California State Supreme Court Agrees To Decide Marriage Equality Case

Although not really a surprise, the California Supreme Court made it official Wednesday by unaninmously agreeing to decide whether the state's current marriage laws which do not allow same-sex couples to be issued marriage licences are unconstitutional or not.

The court agreed to hear the appeal of an October 2006 appellate level split decision which had overturned a lower court decision (pdf) by Judge Richard Kramer on March 14, 2005 which had declared that California's marriage laws discriminate unlawfully against same-sex couples in violation of the state and federal constitutions.

"The same-sex marriage case" is really six consolidated cases, known as In re Marriage Cases (S147999).

On September 6, 2005 the California legislature became the first state legislative body to pass a bill to open marriage to same-sex couples. The very next day Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his intention to veto the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 849 by Leno), which he did on September 29, 2005. On December 4, 2006, Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) reintroduced the legislation to the California Assembly, as AB 43.