California Supreme Court upholds Prop 8

As expected, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, passed by the citizens of the State of California. This now places the states constitution in direct conflict with itself.... California has an 'equality clause' in their constitution.

However, the Supreme Court ruled 'no authority is greater than that of the people.' During oral arguments, Chief Justice George suggested that the unfairness of Proposition 8 should be addressed through the political process.

The 18,000 plus marriages performed in the state when same-sex marriage was legal will remain valid.

In summary, we conclude that Proposition 8 constitutes a permissible constitutional amendment (rather than an impermissible constitutional revision), does not violate the separation of powers doctrine, and is not invalid under the “inalienable rights” theory proffered by the Attorney General.

We further conclude that Proposition 8 does not apply retroactively and therefore that the marriages of same-sex couples performed prior to the effective date of Proposition 8 remain valid. Having determined that none of the constitutional challenges to the adoption of Proposition 8 have merit, we observe that if there is to be a change to the state constitutional rule embodied in that measure, it must “find its expression at the ballot box.”