In a strongly worded opinion, the California Supreme Court by a 4 to 3 vote overturned the ban on marriage equality today. In thirty days, same sex couples will be able to be legally married in the State of California. This makes California the second state after Massachusetts to legalize marriage for the LGBT community. There are reports of celebrations all over the state in support of the decision.

The Court said in its historic decision,

Finally, retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise — now emphatically rejected by this state — that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects “second-class citizens” who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples. Under these circumstances, we cannot find that retention of the traditional definition of marriage constitutes a compelling state interest. Accordingly, we conclude that to the extent the current California statutory provisions limit marriage to opposite-sex couples, these statutes are unconstitutional."

Republican Governor Arnold shortly after the decision vowed to uphold the Court ruling and in a statement said,

“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.”

The Governor was referring to a proposed Constitutional Amendment that might be on the California ballot this November. If it qualifies, it would overturn this Court decision. Observers believe California could easily follow the example of Arizona and reject the amendment.

Clearly, it will be all hands on deck for this epic and historical battle this Fall.