Gay Rights Activists: Back to the Ballot Box

Gay rights activists say they'll try again at the ballot box after the California Supreme Court upheld the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages.
     
After the court's decision yesterday upholding Proposition 8, gay rights groups say they'll begin gathering signatures for another proposition in November of 2010 that would repeal Proposition 8.

After yesterday's ruling, police arrested more than 150 same-sex marriage backers who blocked a San Francisco street to protest the decision.

And last night, several hundred protesters marched in San Francisco.  Many of them ended the evening on the streets of the Castro.

Wednesday morning, the rainbow flag in the Castro was at half staff.

Meanwhile, gay marriage opponents are praising yesterday's ruling. A lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com -- the leading group behind the initiative -- said voters have decided the issue.

The state Supreme Court also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.  The vote was 6 to 1.

The decision Tuesday rejected an argument from gay rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.

The announcement of the decision caused outcry among a sea of demonstrators who gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling.  Some supporters of gay rights began to boo and chant, "Shame on  you."
 
In its ruling, the court rejected three lawsuits in which same-sex couples and local governments claimed the measure could not be passed simply  as an initiative because it was a constitutional revision rather than an  amendment.