[classicman]

California high court upholds same-sex marriage ban

California's highest court upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages Tuesday but allowed about 18,000 unions performed before the ban to remain valid.
Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California, faced a constitutionality test but was upheld.

Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in California, faced a constitutionality test but was upheld.

Supporters of the November ballot initiative Proposition 8 hailed the ruling, but about 1,000 advocates of same-sex marriages who gathered outside the court building in San Francisco met the 6-1 decision with chants of "Shame on you."

Proposition 8's supporters argued that Californians have long had the right to change their state constitution through ballot initiatives. But opponents of the ban argued it improperly altered the state constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state's charter.

Tuesday's ruling found the proposition restricted the designation of marriage "while not otherwise affecting the fundamental constitutional rights of same-sex couples."

"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," California Chief Justice Ronald George wrote.

The court ruled in May 2008 that the state constitution guaranteed gay and lesbian couples the "basic civil right" to marry. That decision came four years after San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

But in November, state voters approved Proposition 8, 52 percent to 48 percent. The measure provided that only heterosexual unions would be recognized as marriages by the state.