By Lisa Leff
SAN FRANCISCO - California's Supreme Court declared gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry - a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.
Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after - religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.
"Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law," declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. "We're going to get married. No Tupperware, please."
A crowd of people raised their fists in triumph inside City Hall, and people wrapped themselves in the rainbow-colored gay-pride flag outside the courthouse.
In the Castro, the historic center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt wept as he watched the news on TV.
"I've been waiting for this all my life. This is a life- affirming moment," he said.
By the afternoon, gay and lesbian couples had already started lining up at San Francisco City Hall to make appointments to get marriage licenses.
In its 4-3 ruling, the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.
"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority .
California has an estimated 92,000 same-sex couples.
"It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California," San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall.
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State policies
Ten states now offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex couples, while 26 states have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, and three more may be considering such bans in November.
The details
Same-sex marriage is recognized only in Massachusetts .
Four states - Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire - have civil unions.
California has been one of five states - along with Hawaii, Maine, Washington and Oregon - with domestic-partnership or reciprocal-benefits laws that provide some marriage-like rights to same-sex couples.
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Originally published by Lisa Leff Associated Press .
(c) 2008 Commercial Appeal, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
