The California state Supreme Court appears unlikely to overturn Proposition 8 after hearing oral arguments in the case to overturn the measure yesterday. The proposition, which passed 52 percent to 48 percent, overturned a May 2008 ruling of the state Supreme Court that legalized same sex marriage.
Chief Justice Ronald George, who authored the decision in the ruling that legalized same sex marriage said yesterday that “there have been initiatives [previously] that have taken away rights from minorities by majority vote isn’t that the system we have to live with?” San Francisco Gate reported.
Justice Joyce L. Kennard, who also voted with the majority in last year’s decision, also was skeptical about the legality of overturning Proposition 8 yesterday: “I think what you are overlooking is the very broad powers of the people to amend the Constitution what I am picking up from this case is that the court should willy-nilly disregard the will of the people,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Last year’s ruling found that legally prohibiting same sex marriage violates the California state constitution, which the ruling said “guarantees same-sex couples the same substantive constitutional rights as opposite-sex couples to choose one’s life partner and enter with that person into a committed, officially recognized, and protected family relationship,” according to Reuters.
