In a landmark decision, the California State Supreme Court ruled that California's ban on same-sex marriage - in place for 31 years - is unconstitutional. The narrow 4-3 victory is cause for celebration in cities across the state. However, a dark cloud looms. The history of the LGBT movement in the US shows that no great victory goes unchallenged. Already, opponents of marriage equality have submitted 1.1 million signatures to the Secretary of State in an attempt to place a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages on the November ballot. Of the 1.1 million signatures submitted, 694,538 must be verified to...

Today, the California Supreme Court convened in San Francisco for three hours of arguments about same-sex marriage in California. Each side was allotted ninety minutes of time to make their case, as an overflow audience watched the proceedings on video screens in a nearby building (and in auditoriums across the state, including here on the UC Berkeley campus). Much argument centered around a 1948 case in which the Court struck down California’s ban on inter-racial marriage. In this case, the “right to join in marriage with the person of one’s choice” was recognized. Key to proponents of same-sex marriage is...

I almost don't even know what to say about this. Chaplain Drollinger, of Capitol Ministries, holds Bible study meetings for lawmakers in Sacramento at the Capitol. Recently, however, he has taken it upon himself to denounce another fellowship group, insisting that their interfaith composition is "disgusting" to God. I have to admit overwhelming curiosity as to Drollinger's opinion on the same-sex marriage decision expected in the coming weeks. If he is this upset over other worshiping Christians, I can only imagine the dim view he takes of allowing the queer community any social dignity. To their credit, lawmakers from both...

The California Supreme Court is set to make a landmark ruling on same-sex marriage rights, within 90 days after a hearing scheduled March 4 in San Francisco. The court will convene for 3 hours to hear arguments from both sides of the issue. At stake is an October 2006 state court ruling affirming California's law barring same-sex marriages. The issue came to a head after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's controversial 2004 decision to ignore the marriage law and grant marriage licenses to thousands of same-sex couples. With the timing of the hearing, such as it is during a contentious...