Same-Sex Marriages on Hold Here Until Court, State Give Green Light

San Diego County supporters of same-sex marriage were celebrating Wednesday, with the U.S. Supreme Court clearing the way for same-sex unions to resume in California.

Meanwhile, the San Diego County clerk announced that his office will not perform civil marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples until issues are sorted out.

“Once the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses the appeal, the stay is lifted and direction is received from the State Office of Vital Records, we will begin accepting appointments for marriage licenses and ceremonies for same sex couples,” said Ernest J. Dronenburg Jr., county assessor, recorder and clerk.

“As information becomes available, we will provide updated information through media releases and posted notices on our website.”

Carl DeMaio, the gay former San Diego councilman now challenging incumbent  Scott Peters for a seat in Congress, also said in a statement: 

“I’m very pleased with the decisions to strike down DOMA, and to let marriage equality stand in California. With today’s court decisions, we took a big step forward for full equality. Let’s continue to change minds by touching hearts until all Americans are treated with respect, inclusion, and equal protections under the law.”

Other Patch coverage:

Did Supreme Court Put Final Nail in Same-Sex Marriage Debate?
Prop. 8 Backers Vow to Press Fight Against Same-Sex Marriage

In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that backers of Proposition 8—which was approved by California voters in 2008 and banned same-sex marriage—lacked legal standing to challenge a lower court ruling that found the measure unconstitutional.

“We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to,” according to the ruling. “We decline to do so for the first time here.”

Since Proposition 8 supporters had no standing, the court did not issue a ruling on the merits of same-sex marriage, but merely let stand the original federal court ruling striking down the measure.

The Supreme Court’s action means same-sex marriage will be legal in California, but not across the nation.

Backers of gay marriage plan to gather for a rally at the Hillcrest Pride Flag at 5 p.m. at University Avenue and Normal Street. The rally is expected to continue later at the LGBT Community Center, 3909 Centre St.

In Oceanside, a rally is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, 510 N. Coast Highway.

In March 2000, California voters approved Prop. 22, which specified in state law that only marriages between a man and a woman are valid in California.

But in May of 2008, the state Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated against gays, and an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples got married in the ensuing months.

Opponents of same-sex marriage quickly got Prop. 8 on the November 2008 ballot to amend the state constitution, and it was approved by a margin of 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. The approval was followed by statewide protests and lawsuits challenging Prop. 8’s legality.

In May 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop. 8 but also ruled that the unions of roughly 18,000 same-sex couples who were wed in 2008 prior to its passage would remain valid.

Same-sex marriage supporters took their case to federal court, and U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled in August 2010 that Proposition 8 “both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Backers of Proposition 8—ProtectMarriage.com—appealed to the 9th Circuit, because then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown declined to do so. The appellate court heard arguments in 2011 but put a decision on hold while it awaited a state Supreme Court ruling on the
ability of Prop. 8 backers to press the case forward despite the state’s refusal to appeal.

Once the state Supreme Court decided that Prop. 8 supporters had legal standing, the 9th Circuit moved ahead with its consideration of the case, hearing more arguments on a motion by Prop. 8 backers asking that Walker’s ruling be thrown out because the judge was in a long-term same-sex relationship that he had not disclosed.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the proposition's primary impact was to “lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.”

“It stripped same-sex couples of the ability they previously possessed to obtain and use the designation of  ‘marriage’ to describe their relationships,” according to the court's decision.

“Nothing more, nothing less. Proposition 8 therefore could not have been enacted to advance California's interests in child-rearing or responsible procreation, for it had no effect on the rights of same-sex couples to raise children or on the procreative practices of other couples.

“Nor did Proposition 8 have any effect on religious freedom or on parents’ rights to control their children's education; it could not have been enacted to safeguard those liberties.”

In addition to Proposition 8, the U.S. Supreme Court also struck down a key portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was enacted in 1996 and defined marriage solely as a union between opposite-sex couples.

The court ruled that the act was unconstitutional by denying federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

—City News Service contributed to this report.