The Supreme Court of California announced today that it would deliver a ruling next Tuesday to uphold or strike down Proposition 8, the state’s true marriage amendment.
Passed by Californians last November, Proposition 8 adds the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman to the state constitution. Homosexualist groups immediately launched suits challenging the validity of the proposition, arguing that the marriage definition significantly altered the constitution and therefore could not be passed by a voter referendum.
The suits were fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on the case in early March. A number of judges, who had previously voted in favor of same-sex "marriage," expressed reservations at the idea of overturning the voter-approved amendment.
The court is also expected to rule on whether Proposition 8 will apply to California same-sex couples "married" in the six-month interval between Proposition 8’s passage, and the May 15 Supreme Court ruling 15 that temporarily introduced same-sex "marriage" into the state. The ruling overturned a marriage referendum approved by California voters in 2000.
