For the thousands of married gay couples in California -- as well as all the impassioned supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage -- this long Memorial Day weekend will be filled with suspense.
That's because the California Supreme Court today announced that on Tuesday morning it will rule on Proposition 8, the voter-approved initiative that re-instituted a ban same-sex marriage, which had been legal in California for a few months before the November vote.
The ruling, which will be posted on the court's Web site at 10 a.m. PDT, will determine not only the constitutionality of the ban, but also the legitimacy of the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages in California.
The people's decision was challenged in court on the grounds that the constitutional change -- approved by 52 percent of the voters -- was too significant for the electorate alone to decide.
During the hearing in early March, gay rights lawyers argued that the matter first should have been approved by the state Legislature.
The attorneys from the other side, led by Kenneth Starr, the dean of Pepperdine University's law school who was made famous by his investigation of President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, argued that Prop 8 should stand. Starr held that Prop 8 does not constitute a significant revision because it does not fundamentally change the structure of government.
In March, many pundits speculated that most of the justices seemed prepared to uphold the initiative, but also appeared inclined to continue to recognize the 18,000 same-sex marriages that were certified during the short six-month period in which gay marriage was legal in California.
The passage of Prop 8 sparked a furor across the country in which the exit polls were closely scrutinized to examine how different groups of people voted.
One of the more talked-about statistics is how an overwhelming proportion of black voters -- 70 percent -- approved the ballot measure. Meanwhile, 53 percent of Hispanic voters approved the measure, as did 49 percent of white voters.
Tuesday's decision will come about a year after the same court ruled 4-3 deeming same-sex marriages to be legal. The voters' November decision overturned that ruling.
In the Supreme Court decision a year ago, Justices Ronald George, Joyce Kennard, Carlos Moreno and Kathryn Mickle Werdegar voted in favor of legalizing gay marriage; justices Marvin Baxter, Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan voted against.
