Pride In California

I am so proud to be a Californian right now. Today, May 15, the California Supreme Court struck a blow for equality by ruling that the ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. People who are committed to each other and love each other are now free to legally marry in our state, no matter what gender they are. Honestly, I had hoped that this would be the outcome, but I have worried for many months that the ruling would go the other way. This is truly good news, and I personally couldn't be happier -- not just for myself, because I've long believed that the institution of marriage should be available to all individuals, but also for my mother and her partner, for my niece and for all Californians.

"The California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the majority opinion.

Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry "will not deprive opposite-sex couples of any rights and will not alter the legal framework of the institution of marriage," George said.

In addition, he said, the current state law discriminates against same-sex couples on the basis of their sexual orientation - discrimination that the court, for the first time, put in the same legal category as racial or gender bias.

This is really a red-letter day. I think I know just how these people feel.