While members of the UCLA lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community celebrated a California Superior Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriages, both opponents and proponents of the decision are bracing for a long legal battle.
In what could be the start of a protracted legal fight to decide the fate of same-sex marriages, Judge Richard Kramer of the San Francisco County Superior Court ruled on Monday that limiting marriage to opposite-sex partners is unconstitutional.
“The state’s protracted denial of equal protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional,” Kramer wrote in his ruling.
The judge likened anti-same-sex marriage laws to anti-interracial marriage and segregation laws, and wrote that there is no legal justification for limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
The San Francisco ruling is the first court decision in California to decide whether the ban on gay marriages is constitutional.
Though the ruling legalizes same-sex marriages, it will not go into effect for 60 days, and groups opposing same-sex marriage are expected to appeal before then.
“This is too important of an issue for either side to walk away from without going to the Supreme Court,” said Brad Sears, executive director of the UCLA William’s Project, a university-based think tank dedicated to the field of sexual-orientation law and public policy.
Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families, one of the groups defending California laws which limit marriage to a man and woman, issued a statement on Monday saying an appeal will be filed immediately.
“It’s hurtful and insulting to the voters when a judge attacks the voters and destroys the sacred institution of marriage for a man and a woman. This outrageous ruling will inspire average citizens to rise up and fight to protect marriage as it naturally is – for a man and a woman, a husband and wife,” Thomasson said in the statement.
Ronni Sanlo, director of the UCLA LGBT Resource Center, said the ruling is an important beginning in the process of fighting for same-sex marriages in California.
“I’m thrilled that this ruling came down,” Sanlo said. The decision by the judge opens the possibility of the legalization of same-sex marriages by beginning the legal battle, she said.
Third-year math and English student Andy Sanders said the ruling “is a small glimmer of hope that some people have not entirely lost sight of the notion of privacy and liberty in the world.”
Zachary Kramer, a lecturer on law and sexuality at the UCLA School of Law, said the ruling is an important first step for gay rights.
“It is an important victory and it leads to the likely conclusion that there will be even more victories in the future,” Kramer said.
Kramer added that the San Francisco ruling seems to be similar to the rulings made by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which resulted in the legalization of same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.
The recent ruling seems to send the message that the same arguments for same-sex marriages which won in Massachusetts are winning in California, he said.
Kramer added that the final decision on whether the ruling will be upheld will depend on higher courts because of the appeals process.
While many students in the LGBT community are celebrating the ruling as an important stepping stone for gay rights, some students who are opposed to gay marriages say they are eagerly awaiting appeals to the decision.
“I think that the San Francisco judges are a bit biased. The main ruling I will be looking for is when the U.S. Supreme Court rules on this, whenever it gets appealed up to there,” said San Kwok, a second-year computer science and engineering student.
Previous rulings, which voided the estimated 4,000 same-sex weddings conducted last year, dealt with whether former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom overstepped his authority by ordering city officials to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
Though Massachusetts is the only state to allow same-sex marriage, many states are considering the issue.
Sears said the decision by the San Francisco court is one in a number of growing case decisions which say constitutional principles of equality requires marriage to be defined as the union between two people, not just heterosexual couples.
Recently, New York, Oregon and Washington trial courts ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.
“These aren’t isolated cases anymore. This is now the national trend,” Sears said.
Though there have been a series of court rulings in favor of gay marriage, the battle for legal recognition of gay marriage suffered a setback during the previous presidential election when voters in 11 states backed measures against gay marriage. Twenty-one states are considering constitutional bans.