California Gay Marriage Issue + McCain, Clinton, Obama?

Today, the mostly republican California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage by a vote of 4-3, declaring that state laws banning same-sex unions are discriminatory, according to an article by Kevin Drum of CBS News. The ruling affects more than 100,000 couples in California, with about 25,000 of those couples having children involved.

Before California gay couples can apply for a wedding license, they must wait for 30-days for the courts decision to take effect. This wait sounds rather simple for gays wishing to marry, but it is not. California gays have had marriage rights in the past that have been overturned. Republican Schwarzenegger has vetoed two measures before today that has resulted in keeping the ban on gay marriage in place in California.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a large group of anti-gay rights people have submitted a traditional marriage petition to be voted on in November. This petition seeks to overturn the California Supreme Court by amending the state constitution to read that only a man and woman may marry. (L.A.Times article.)

In my opinion alone, this favorable decision towards gays by the six-republican and one- democrat California Supreme Court, after years of negative gay rights republican Schwarzenegger intervention seems a bit odd. Did the mostly republican California Supreme Court make their decision today knowing that it will be voted out of reality in November?

John McCain, our republican candidate for president, has the same curious republican smudging-of-lines attitude when it comes to clarifying his exact party views on the gay rights issues. Giuliani had the gay following of supporters, when he dropped out of the presidential race the gay supporters chose to go with John McCain, but it was McCain who was instrumental in helping to block gay marriages in 2000, and again in 2006, according to the New York Sun.