2008 Woodie Awards
Judge overturns California gay marriage ban
Lisa Jeff - Associated Press
Issue date: 3/17/05 Section: News
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - To gay marriage supporters, it is a historic development akin to a 1948 state Supreme Court decision that made California the first state to legalize interracial marriage.
To gay marriage opponents, it is an appalling abuse of judicial power that overturned a long-held tradition that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
Setting the stage for a drawn-out legal battle between the two sides, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer overturned California's ban on gay marriage Monday and said that withholding marriage licenses from same-sex couples trespasses on their civil rights.
If it is upheld on appeal, the ruling will open the way for the nation's most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to wed.
In his ruling, Kramer likened the ban to laws requiring racial segregation in schools, and said there appears to be ``no rational purpose'' for denying marriage to gay couples.
``The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional,'' Kramer wrote.
The ruling came in response to lawsuits filed by the city of San Francisco and a dozen gay couples a year ago after the California Supreme Court halted a four-week same-sex marriage spree started by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
The opinion had been eagerly awaited because of San Francisco's historical role as a gay rights battleground.
``Today's ruling is an important step toward a more fair and just California that rejects discrimination and affirms family values for all California families,'' San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.
Conservative leaders expressed outrage at the ruling and vowed to appeal.
``For a single judge to rule there is no conceivable purpose for preserving marriage as one man and one woman is mind-boggling,'' said Liberty Counsel President Mathew Staver. ``This decision will be gasoline on the fire of the pro-marriage movement in California as well as the rest of the country.
To gay marriage opponents, it is an appalling abuse of judicial power that overturned a long-held tradition that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
Setting the stage for a drawn-out legal battle between the two sides, San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer overturned California's ban on gay marriage Monday and said that withholding marriage licenses from same-sex couples trespasses on their civil rights.
If it is upheld on appeal, the ruling will open the way for the nation's most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to wed.
In his ruling, Kramer likened the ban to laws requiring racial segregation in schools, and said there appears to be ``no rational purpose'' for denying marriage to gay couples.
``The state's protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional,'' Kramer wrote.
The ruling came in response to lawsuits filed by the city of San Francisco and a dozen gay couples a year ago after the California Supreme Court halted a four-week same-sex marriage spree started by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
The opinion had been eagerly awaited because of San Francisco's historical role as a gay rights battleground.
``Today's ruling is an important step toward a more fair and just California that rejects discrimination and affirms family values for all California families,'' San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.
Conservative leaders expressed outrage at the ruling and vowed to appeal.
``For a single judge to rule there is no conceivable purpose for preserving marriage as one man and one woman is mind-boggling,'' said Liberty Counsel President Mathew Staver. ``This decision will be gasoline on the fire of the pro-marriage movement in California as well as the rest of the country.