UPDATED: U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Prop. 8, Same-Sex Marriage To Resume In California

UPDATED AT 11:30 a.m.

After years of debate and legal wrangling between opponents and proponents of same-sex marriage, the U.S. Supreme Court today cleared the way for the unions to resume in California, ruling that supporters of Proposition 8 lacked standing to appeal lower court rulings that deemed the state's voter-approved measure unconstitutional.

Proposition 8 restricted marriages in California to unions between a man and a woman. It was enacted by voters in 2008 but was deemed unconstitutional last year by a federal appeals court, which found the initiative was at odds with U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment guaranteeing equal protection under the law.

In Wednesday's 5-4 vote, the high court itself said nothing about the validity of gay marriage bans in California and dozens of other states.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, and was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Antonin Scalia.

President Barack Obama issued the following statement today:

I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.  This was discrimination enshrined in law.  It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people.  The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it.  We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. 

This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better. 

So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.

On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital.  How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions.  Nothing about this decision – which applies only to civil marriages – changes that.  

Gov. Jerry Brown said today that in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Proposition 8, he wants counties in California to begin issuing marriage licenses as soon as a federal appeals court lifts a stay it had imposed while the legal battle raged on.

"After years of struggle, the U.S. Supreme Court today has made same- sex marriage a reality in California," Brown said. "In light of the decision, I have directed the California Department of Public Health to advise the state's counties that they must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in California as soon as the Ninth Circuit confirms the stay is lifted."

According to Brown's office, the governor consulted with Attorney General Kamala Harris, who advised that county clerks must begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples as soon as the stay is lifted. When the court does lift the stay, the state Department of Public Health will issue a notice to county officials throughout the state.

--City News Service contributed to this report.

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