Over here at Left Coast Contessa I rarely update on the political. Those that know me know that I’m not shy about my liberal leanings (hello, “Left Coast”!) But as a law student and Californian I wanted to just take a moment and talk about the striking down of prop 8.

I was very happy to see that Prop 8 was declared unconstitutional. Granted, there will still be a long fight in the courts and there is much disagreement over which approach is the right one (ie: Supreme Court vs. ballot props).

However, I will say that I was proud of the message that was sent today from the court: Proposition 8 “fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.” 

I also was a HUGE fan of the court talking about applying strict scrutiny to  equal protection claims based on sexual orientation. The court essentially said that there is no reason to classify people based on sexual orientation.

So, while there is still a long battle ahead, lets enjoy the moment and celebrate!

The opinion can be read here