Big, California Sized Battle

California's Supreme Court is going to release some of it's rulings starting tomorrow and the big one (for me and many others) is going to be their decision on marriage equality . It's expected to be a positive decision for us gays. Finally!

In case you don't know, domestic partnerships are the law of the land in Cali for committed gays. The legislature has repeatedly submitted laws to legalize same-sex marriage and each time the governors of the state have vetoed it (thanks Arnold). If the court instates marriage equality, anti-gay organizations will push through their ballot initiative to add a ban to same-sex marriage to the constitution. The governor has said he will veto it, though (thanks Arnold).

Looks to be a big big decisions tomorrow with an even bigger battle to follow. California is a huge state and it represents a big, symbolic battle for both sides.

In case you were wondering, the federal government does NOT recognize ANY same-sex unions, so no change on federal recognition (which includes immigration rights). This looks like it will become another big issue in the election and a potential problem for Obama. He has been more progressive on LGBT rights than any one else and favors a full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (the federal law that Bill Clinton signed that forbids the government from recognizing same sex marriages).

If Obama does repeal the federal DOMA, then there is a good chance that any states that haven't passed state level DOMA's will have to start recognizing California and Massachusetts' same sex marriages. This is all sort of off in the distance, but it's a real possibility. Finally.