I'm Getting Married!

I am not sure of the date yet but Kent and I are definitly going to married in California! See Prop. 8 update below.

Judge lifts stay on Calif. gay marriages
by Roger Brigham
EDGE San Francisco Editor
Thursday Aug 12, 2010


A federal judge on Thursday, Aug. 12, ruled same-sex couples can resume getting married in California after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 18, giving marriage opponents time to appeal his ruling.

Chief Judge Vaughn Walker had said he would announce his decision by noon local time on whether his ruling that struck down Proposition 8 would immediately go into effect or whether the marriage ban would remain in effect while the appeal process progressed.

"Today's ruling means that in less than one week, equality under the law will be restored for millions of loving families across California," said Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs. "Lifting the stay is ultimately consistent with both legal precedent and the findings in this case. Judge Walker's ruling affirms that the purpose of our judicial system is to protect our constitutional rights, not to take away those rights."

The decision not to lift the stay for another week came as a disappointment to hundreds of same-sex couples who, hours before Walker's announcement, lined up at county offices across the state in the hopes of getting married at the earliest opportunity. Prop 8 protesters greeted them in In San Francisco

But as the noon hour broke, word had not yet been received on the decision.

Word of Walker's decision to lift his ban did not come until 12:40 p.m. local time. The judge said his decision would go into the books at the end of the day on Wednesday, Aug. 18, but this delay enables Prop 8 supporters to appeal Walker's decision and seek yet another stay.

"I am pleased with today's decision that once again allows all loving same-sex couples to make lifelong commitments to one another through marriage," said state Sen. Mark Leno. "Many couples and their families have long been denied the respect and validation that comes with marriage, despite any logical reason to treat same-sex couples differently than opposite-sex couples. I am elated that I will again have the opportunity to perform ceremonies for caring and devoted couples who want nothing more than to honor their love in a universally understood way than through marriage."

Voters approved Prop 8 in Nov. 2008, but two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco challenged it in federal court.

David Boies and Ted Olson argued against Prop 8 earlier this year. And closing arguments took place in June.

Walker struck down Prop 8 last Wednesday, Aug. 5. And Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown, both nominal defendants in the case who refused to defend the voter-approved amendment, had urged Walker to lift his stay on the ban as it makes its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Government officials can resume issuing such licenses without administrative delay or difficulty," Schwarzenegger wrote the court, noting some 18,000 same-sex couples tied the knot in the state in 2008.


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