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Calif. Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban

The state Supreme Court has upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, but also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed.

The decision Tuesday rejected an argument from gay rights activists that the ban revised the California constitution's equal protection clause to such a dramatic degree that it first needed the Legislature's approval.

The announcement of the decision caused outcry among a sea of demonstrators who gathered in front of the San Francisco courthouse awaiting the ruling.

"Today's ruling is a huge blow to Americans everywhere who care about equality. The court has allowed a bare majority of voters to write same-sex couples out of basic constitutional protections," said Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, the USA's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.

"This ruling is painful, but it represents a temporary setback. There will be a groundswell to restore marriage equality in our nation's largest state, and HRC will not give up until marriage equality is restored in California."

Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a conservative group that opposes gay marraige, said, "This is a great victory for the people of California and the millions of supporters around the country for traditional marraige. I am elated."

However, he said he wishes the court would "not have validated" the 18,000 marriages conducted between last June and Election Day.

"This is going to present another litigational mess. It's a conundrum. The court in their way wanted to provide an out, a win-win scenario at the end of the day, the other side will vigorously contest and try to repeal Prop 8 and we will fight them every step of the way."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said, "I know today?s decision is a tremendous disappointment for many people. But I also know that the opinions of Californians are changing on this issue, and I believe that equal marriage rights will one day be the law in this state. This is already the case in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. So, I believe this issue will come before the voters again, and I am very hopeful that the result will be different next time."

Contributing: Andrea Stone and Steve Marshall in McLean, Va., and the Associated Press