Bill Clarifying Rights of Same-Sex Couples Married Outside California Passes Assembly
California Political Desk
September 04, 2009
SACRAMENTO – Legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno that resolves ambiguities about how out-of-state same-sex marriages will be recognized in California passed the Assembly today with a 44-27 vote.
Senate Bill 54 bill clarifies that same-sex couples who married outside of California before Proposition 8 went into effect last year are recognized as married spouses, not unlike the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California. The legislation also confirms that same-sex couples who married outside California after Prop 8 went into effect on November 5, 2008, or plan to do so in the future, must receive the same rights, protections, benefits, obligations and responsibilities afforded to opposite-sex spouses, with the sole exception of the designation of "marriage."
Senator Leno´s bill echoes the California Supreme Court´s decision from earlier this year that upheld Prop 8 but also determined that same-sex couples shall have all the same rights as married opposite-sex couples, minus the label of "marriage."
"When California offered marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2008, spouses who were already married in another state or country were prohibited from re-marrying in California," said Senator Leno (D-San Francisco). "Now those couples and their families are in limbo because their rights and protections under law are not clear. This legislation ensures that same-sex couples are protected by existing California law that recognizes all marriages equally, regardless of where they are performed."
While Prop 8 prevents California from using the "marriage" designation for same-sex couples who marry after November 5, 2008, the Supreme Court´s May 26 decision, as explained by the Court, "leaves undisturbed all of the other aspects of a same-sex couple´s constitutional right to establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship and to the equal protection of the laws."
Senate Bill 54 bill clarifies that same-sex couples who married outside of California before Proposition 8 went into effect last year are recognized as married spouses, not unlike the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California. The legislation also confirms that same-sex couples who married outside California after Prop 8 went into effect on November 5, 2008, or plan to do so in the future, must receive the same rights, protections, benefits, obligations and responsibilities afforded to opposite-sex spouses, with the sole exception of the designation of "marriage."
Senator Leno´s bill echoes the California Supreme Court´s decision from earlier this year that upheld Prop 8 but also determined that same-sex couples shall have all the same rights as married opposite-sex couples, minus the label of "marriage."
"When California offered marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2008, spouses who were already married in another state or country were prohibited from re-marrying in California," said Senator Leno (D-San Francisco). "Now those couples and their families are in limbo because their rights and protections under law are not clear. This legislation ensures that same-sex couples are protected by existing California law that recognizes all marriages equally, regardless of where they are performed."
While Prop 8 prevents California from using the "marriage" designation for same-sex couples who marry after November 5, 2008, the Supreme Court´s May 26 decision, as explained by the Court, "leaves undisturbed all of the other aspects of a same-sex couple´s constitutional right to establish an officially recognized and protected family relationship and to the equal protection of the laws."
Print
Email
