Gay marriage upheld: reactions to the ruling

Voices from across California, and around the nation, in reaction to the California Supreme Court decision ruling that a ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional:

Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles)

California Assembly speaker

“We are delighted with today’s state Supreme Court ruling allowing marriage equality in California. It is a true testament to advancing equality and to recognizing the right of all Californians to build a future with the person they love. We recently lost Mildred Loving, the woman whose marriage to a man of another race ushered in the Supreme Court ruling that made marriage colorblind. Today’s ruling is another important reminder that love will overcome.”

Don Perata (D-Oakland)

California Senate president pro tem

“I’m glad the Supreme Court validated what I consider a fundamental premise of our nation, that all people deserve equal protection under the law… . This is a happy and historic day because all Californians, regardless of sexual orientation, now have the right to marry.”

Greg Gurley

A 25-year-old straight African American walking in West Hollywood

He called the decision a victory for all minorities.

“Gay people should be afforded the same rights. It may a different struggle than it is to get equal rights for women, blacks, immigrants or any group discriminated against, but our country is at a point where we have enough to deal with and shouldn’t make it worse. This, I think, will help unite, not divide.”

Ina Piette

A 76-year-old resident of Laguna Beach

“It doesn’t bother me… . We try to control people’s lives too much. How would this hurt other people? I don’t see it.”

Linda Mabini

A 68-year-old Roman Catholic from Placentia

“I think God has a reason for creating a man and a woman. I think that’s the more natural way and it should remain that way.”

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

“I respect the court’s decision, and as governor I will uphold its ruling. 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.”

Antonio Villaraigosa

Los Angeles mayor

“It’s been a long journey to reach this historic day,” he said, standing in the courtyard of L.A.’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center. “This is about people and the right for people to love who they want.”

He pledged his full support in campaigning against an attempt to amend the state Constitution. “I will stand with you,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to keep this decision the law of the land.”

Villaraigosa then said he would officiate over as many same-sex weddings as possible.

Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto)

State Senate Republican leader

“California voters spoke loud and clear that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman. This disappointing ruling gives activist judges a louder voice than the people of this great state. A constitutional amendment to overturn this ruling will now undoubtedly qualify for the ballot, giving Californians another opportunity to maintain the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.”

Richard Mark Alfaro

A resident of Los Angeles, 55, and an HIV-positive man

“I’m at a point where I don’t think I’ll ever get married, who will want me the way I am?”

But he quickly added, “The younger generation of gays needs it before they get too messed up like some of us. This will offer them stability in their relationships finally to the point of what’s perceived as ‘normal.’ ”

Bill Rosendahl

L.A. City Council member

“I am elated and moved beyond words by the news that the California Supreme Court has struck down the ban on same-sex marriage. Like my sisters and brothers in the LGBT community, I am thrilled, proud and excited by the court’s just and wise decision affirming our basic civil rights.

“As a teenager living in the closet, or as gay man watching my friends die from the scourge of AIDS, I never thought I would see the day when our rights would be fully recognized. This is an important and historic day. I am proud to be a Californian and proud to be a gay man.”

Stewart Gaffney and John Lewis

San Francisco residents, standing outside the state courthouse in San Francisco and wrapped in an oversize California flag

“Today the two of us can get married because of the wisdom of the court,” Gaffney said. “The moment we heard the decision we felt elation. Boundless joy. Our hearts skipped beats. We took a long, deep breath and realized we were a couple in the eyes of the world. How good is that?”

Added Lewis: “Now, along with all the other gay couples in California, we’ll be together. All loving couples in California will have the freedom to marry the one they love.”

Ron Prentice

Executive director of the Sacramento- and Riverside-based California Family Council, which opposes same-sex marriage

He said the group was “not surprised by the ruling, though extremely disappointed.”

He said they “expect that with the November ballot we will have the opportunity for the people of California to once again define marriage as only between a man and a woman and this time place it into California’s Constitution, which would strengthen it and keep it out of the hands of the courts.”

“We have not been able to count on the Legislature or the courts of California to adhere to the will of the people,” Prentice said. “This is yet another example why the people need to go to the polls in November to defend the historic and natural definition of marriage.”

Joseph Johnson

50, visiting Los Angeles from Florida

Johnson heard the news and immediately called a gay couple he knows to announce they could get married. Johnson was elated by the news.

“It’s obviously a landmark,” said Johnson, sitting at a cafe on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. “Other states will have to follow this pattern. It’s segregation. They are all going to have to give in eventually… . It’s only been about 40 years since homosexuality really registered in American culture.”

Jennifer Chrisler

Executive director, Family Equality Council

“In terms of guaranteed protections, there is no other legal institution as powerful as marriage in this country. With this historic and fair-minded ruling, the California Supreme Court has taken a tremendous step in moving equality forward for California families. Though we recognize that it does not take a marriage to make a family, we understand that thousands of same-sex couples and their families in California and beyond desire to marry and are in critical need of the legal protections that marriage affords.”

Rea Carey

Acting executive director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

“This is an extraordinary victory for Californians and all Americans who hold fairness and opportunity as fundamental American values. Thank you, California, for standing up for safety, respect and dignity for our families… .

“Today, once again, California is leading the way in affirming the inherent dignity of all people. Today, in our hearts, we are all Californians.”

Bruce Hausknecht

Judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, the public policy wing of Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“We’re disappointed in it, obviously, because it is a court once again placing itself above the will of the people in California and creating constitutional rights out of thin air.

“The good news for Californians is that there is an amendment to their constitution that is going to be voted on in November… . I see this decision as energizing the vote and the push for that amendment this fall as well as across the country where similar initiatives are ready in Florida and Arizona. It may even impact the federal elections in the fall if people are outraged and sick enough of activist judges legislating from the bench on this.”

Lorenzo Vega

Walking near Los Angeles City Hall

“It’s not like marriage really contains what a relationship means to you,” he said. “But in the light of human rights this was something that needs to happen.”

Vega said he didn’t expect his partner of 14 years to get too excited about the decision: “It just seems it’s been such a long time that we’ve just learned how to work around it.”

Randy Thomasson

President of the Campaign for Children and Families

“On a 4-3 vote, the California Supreme Court has destroyed the civil institution of marriage between a man and a woman, and law-abiding Americans must condemn it in the strongest terms. This arrogant judicial activism took 121 pages of contorted logic to explain and is no surprise coming from this San Francisco-based court. 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.”

Michael D. Antonovich

Los Angeles County supervisor

“This is another decision where four members of the judiciary reject the will of the people who overwhelmingly voted in 2000 to ban same-sex marriage.”

Assemblyman Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar)

“Eight years ago with the passage of Proposition 22, the voters of California agreed that marriage is ‘between a man and a woman.’ Period. The court’s decision today is further proof that some activist judges value their own beliefs over the will of the people.”

Jim Smith

A Toluca Lake parent in a same-sex relationship

“I’m ecstatic… . I think this is the beginning of the end of ostracism, bullying and all the things that used to make people feel less human than others.”

Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys)

Author of California’s same-sex marriage bills

“I am absolutely elated by the California Supreme Court’s decision. We live in 2008 and there is no place for discrimination in any way, shape or form.

“All people in California have equal rights under the law. I look forward to the day when all people can marry the person they love. This is a great day for equality in California.”

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara)

“This is a momentous day for the state of California and for those who value family rights and civil rights for all. Once again, California has stepped up and been a leader in protecting equal rights for all of its citizens. This decision will strengthen families across the state and ensure that gays and lesbians in committed relationships will be able to enjoy the same rights and privileges as heterosexual couples. Providing rights to gay and lesbian couples through a separate system of domestic partnerships, while a step forward, is not enough. Today’s decision affirms the fundamental American principal of equality for all.”

Damian Goldvarg

Who came to Los Angeles from Buenos Aires 16 years ago

“I’m still holding my breath, because I know there are still a lot of people wanting to keep gays from getting married. People are still willing to spend millions of dollars and go to vote to show us that.”

Elisa Odabashian

Resident of Burlingame, Calif.

“For more than 21 years, Ash and I have wanted to marry. Our kids, Gavin [17] and Baylor [14], yearn for their parents to be married. Today, we have been told that we will get that basic human right to love and to have society acknowledge and honor our love and our family. We can’t wait for our kids to get home from school so we can tell them and see them beam!”

Clarissa Gonzales

An Irvine student and legal secretary

“I don’t think the government should control rights like this, the rights of a gay person to marry in a gay marriage.”

Vicki Erickson

Resident of Anaheim and intake service worker

“Although I can see both sides, it will be expensive for insurance carriers and employers. I don’t think government has a place with morals in our society and lives. Government should be taking care of people but not this way.”