Same-sex marriage legal in California

California's Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples have the constitutional right to marry! From the SF Chronicle:

In a 4-3 decision, the justices said the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship."

Here's another article from the L.A. Times. They say Gov. Schwarzenegger says he'll follow the court's ruling.

"I respect the court's decision and as governor, I will uphold its ruling," [Schwarzenegger] said in a statement. "Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."

Unfortunately, it looks like hate groups such as the Campaign for Children and Families will be pushing for a ballot initiative in November for a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Think I'm extreme for referring to such a nice, wholesome-sounding group as a hate group? See for yourself what they said about this court ruling:

On a 4-3 vote, the California Supreme Court has destroyed the civil institution of marriage between a man and a woman, and law-biding Americans must condemn it in the strongest terms. By bowing down to homosexual activists and the rebel city of San Francisco, the California Supreme Court has exchanged the rule of law for the rule of unbridled power to destroy all that is good and sacred.

That sounds like hatred to me. According to the L. A. Times, "more than 100,000 same-sex couples in the state, about a quarter of whom have children," will be affected by this law (data from U.S. Census bureau). I would think a group supporting families would want the stability of the institution of marriage available to these families. That would be best, right? I guess not, when addressing something that they feel could "destroy all that is good and sacred". Yikes.

I'll be keeping a close eye on these goings-on in California. I truly hope this ruling stands, and no amendments are passed. I just want people to be able to love who they want, and if they want the state to recognize their union, then I want them to have that. Good for them. I just don't understand when people turn it into a good vs. evil thing. That doesn't help anyone, and only makes more hate.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
It's the only thing that there's just too little of.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.
-Burt Bacharach