Family Law

The California Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a ban on same-sex marriage that state voters passed in November, but it allowed about 18,000 marriages performed before the ban to remain valid.

Opponents of the ban argued that the controversial Proposition 8 improperly altered the California Constitution to restrict a fundamental right guaranteed in the state's charter.

But the court found the measure 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, which is dominated by Republican appointees, ruled in May 2008 that the state constitution guaranteed gay and lesbian couples the "basic civil right" to marry. The 4-3 decision came four years after San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

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

Supporters of the proposition argued that Californians long have had the right to change their state constitution through ballot initiatives. The effort to overturn the restriction "strikes directly at the heart of California's system of government," a brief by the conservative Family Research Council argued.

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Please be sure to visit www.hardinglaw.com, the website for the law firm of Harding & Associates, for more information on California family law.