2 states down...50 more to go!!

California's top court overturns gay marriage ban

SAN FRANCISCO - In a monumental victory for the gay rights movement, the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage Thursday in a ruling that would allow same-sex couples in the nation's biggest state to tie the knot.

Domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage, the justices ruled 4-3 in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.

Outside the courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news spread of the decision.

"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," the court wrote.

The city of San Francisco, two dozen gay and lesbian couples and gay rights groups sued in March 2004 after the court halted San Francisco's monthlong same-sex wedding march.

"Today the California Supreme Court took a giant leap to ensure that everybody — not just in the state of California, but throughout the country — will have equal treatment under the law," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who argued the case for San Francisco. By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer

I think this is a momentous event! Gay and Lesbian couples are entitled to the same marital rights as heterosexual couples. When two people are in love and want to solidify that love by taking vows of marriage no one has the right to stop them. This is just the beginning. History has a way of repeating itself. It wasn't that long ago that segregation and separate water fountains where displayed for blacks and whites. We have conquered that battle and this battle of same-sex marriage state wide will to be conquered.