SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court panel upheld California’s marriage laws Oct. 5, ruling against “gay marriage” supporters and declaring that the definition of marriage is an issue for the state Legislature or the citizens — and not the courts — to decide.
The 2–1 decision overturned a March 2005 ruling by a trial court judge, who said “gay marriage” should be legalized and that a 2000 voter-approved initiative that banned it violated the California Constitution. Homosexual activists say they will appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court.
“Courts simply do not have the authority to create new rights, especially when doing so involves changing the definition of so fundamental an institution as marriage,” Justice William R. McGuiness wrote for the majority. “… The time may come when California chooses to expand the definition of marriage to encompass same-sex unions. That change must come from democratic processes, however, not by judicial fiat.”
California voters passed a law in 2000, Proposition 22, that protected the natural definition of marriage and specifically banned “gay marriage.” It was adopted with 61 percent of the vote. But in 2004, the city of San Francisco and a host of legal groups — including Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights — filed suit seeking to overturn Proposition 22 and the state’s other marriage laws and have “gay marriage” legalized. (TAB)
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