California gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional

A large crowd of Indian Americans gathered in San Francisco, Calif., on the evening of Feb. 7 to celebrate a court ruling earlier in the day that declared a gay marriage ban in the state unconstitutional. On a 2 to 1 vote, the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that Proposition 8, passed by voters in 2008, violated the civil liberties of same-sex couples. "Prop. 8 serves no purpose and has no effect other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort," said the court in its ruling. The ruling does not mean same-sex couples can immediately marry in California, Harsha Mallojosyulla, advocacy director of Trikone, told India-West. He noted that a stay on the Feb. 7 ruling would be in effect until the Supreme Court decides whether to take on the case. Mallojosyulla, who is single, said he likes having the option to marry. His father is supportive of his decision - "he wants me to be in a relationship and worries about me being alone," said Mallojosyulla - and even took to the streets in 2008 to hand out flyers opposing Prop. 8. "He knows this will have a big impact on my life," said Mallojosyulla. "Trikone commends the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in support of marriage equality. Today's decision is a step in the right direction towards marriage equality," said the organization in a press release. Seven U.S. states allow same-sex couples to legally marry. They include Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Guru Swamy, who recently moved to Berkeley, Calif., with his husband Ed McDonough, and their two children Queendaysha, 10, and Gabriel, 12, told India-West that the Appeals Court ruling was "wonderful for our family." Swamy and McDonough got married in Provincetown, Mass., last summer, before moving to California. No changes in the ruling have been made against couples who were married in another state, so it is unclear whether their marriage will be recognized in California during the stay of order on the ruling. The couple adopted their two children when Queendaysha was five and Gabriel was six. Massachusetts allows both people in a same-sex relationship to adopt a child and goes a step further by adding both names to the birth certificate. Swamy said he hopes the Supreme Court will take on the case, so that same-sex marriage becomes legal throughout the nation.
--Sunita Sohrabji,TOI