California supports gay equality on marriage — hold on to your hats in election time

The California Supreme Court has seen the light on the equality of gay marriage. In a tightly split 4-3 vote, the court overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriages.

The state’s constitution “guarantees same-sex couples the same substantive constitutional rights as opposite-sex couples to choose one's life partner and enter with that person into a committed, officially recognized, and protected family relationship,” the court said.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had tried to do a city-level version of gay marriage before being legally enjoined, was ecstatic about the ruling.

“It's an exhilarating feeling. That’s the best I can describe it,” Newsom said. “At the end of the day, this is about real people and their lives and their families, and it doesn’t get much more personal than that.”

Given the population of California, the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution is now going to get a full workout.