by Amy Matsui, Senior Counsel
National Women’s Law Center
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. In their ruling, the majority held that the right to marry is a fundamental right protected under the California Constitution’s guarantees of liberty and privacy, and that preventing same-sex couples from marrying violates the California Constitution’s equal protection clause.
We celebrate this decision and the step toward equality for all Americans that it represents. And we note that, under the California Constitution’s equal protection clause, the very strongest protections apply to prevent discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and now sexual orientation. Wouldn’t it be nice if the same were true under the federal Constitution?
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