The California Supreme Court Ruled on Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8, the voter initiative that outlawed same sex marriage in the state, overturning a lower court ruling that the proposition is unconstitutional. Okay. I utterly disagree with this ruling, but I can follow the logic.
What I can’t follow is the decision that although same sex marriage is now illegal again, the 18,000 couples who married during the brief window opened by the first court ruling are still legally married in a state which will not allow others in the same situation to marry.
It would appear that I’m not alone in that confusion.
David Hyde-Pierce, who played Dr. Niles Crane on Fraser for the entire run of the show, winning many accolades along the way, joins me. He may not realize it, but we are brain twins in this matter.
In fact, he went on The View this week and announced that he and long-time companion Producer Brian Hargrove had quietly tied the knot on October 24th. Hyde-Pierce says his reaction to the news that he was still married despite the ruling was an angry: “It’s Like ‘Oh great, we made the cut.'”
This decision is bound to upset nearly everyone on both sides of the question. Those of us in favor of marriage equality are angry that the right to be married has been stripped from so many people, and frustrated that a few people have gotten what the rest are not allowed. Those against are bound to be frustrated that the people who married while it was legal are still married when the legal basis for their marriages has been declared invalid.
The one thing that’s absolutely clear is that the battle is going to rage on.
In the meantime, I wish Messers Hyde-Pierce and Hargrove every joy. After twenty-five years together, I’d say they’ve earned it.
Why are you confused? The question the California Supreme Court had to answer was “whose ruling works?” The PEOPLE voted to claim marriage is between a man and a woman, only AFTER the State Supremes had ruled it just takes two partners. And, sexual definitions don’t matter. (So the marriage licenses were changed to “Partner A, and Partner B.”
Well, we’re back to boxes set aside for one man and one woman.
AND, as laws work the clock doesn’t go backwards. So the Supremes also ruled their ruling was effective until the voters said “NO.”
Heck, when Prop 13 pushed back all those excessive property taxes, you did NOT get refunds for overpayments.
When a new law becomes law it starts ticking as soon as the paper is considered “legal.” Hey. Just like marriage. You can screw beforehand, but you’re not man and wife. Kapish?