The court's ruling may be reason for many liberally minded Californians to celebrate, but it is likely that conservative groups will try to put a constitutional amendment before voters in November to overturn the court's decision, observers said.
In Los Angeles, County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Yvonne Burke said Friday they will order county officials next week to begin complying with the state Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriages.
"The last thing we want is for the county to be unprepared," Yaroslavsky said. "We have to comply with the Supreme Court decision."
"The phone was ringing off the hook" after the court's decision Thursday from couples inquiring about the process, according to Dean Logan, a Los Angeles County clerk at the department that issues marriage licenses.
Officials said it will be at least 30 days before marriage licenses could be issued because the county needs instructions from state, but Yaroslavsky said he wants the county to be ready to move as soon as possible.
Thursday's 4-3 ruling by the high court's seven justices found that it is unconstitutional to deprive gays and lesbians of the equal right to marriage, virtually invalidate any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation. If held up, it will make California the second state after Massachusetts that legalizes same-sex marriages in the United States.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hailed the court's decision, saying he would officiate over as many same-sex weddings as possible. He also pledged his full support in campaigning against an attempt to amend the state constitution.
"It's been a long journey to reach this historic day," he said Thursday in Los Angeles after the ruling was announced. "This is about people and the right for people to love who they want."
Although Thursday's ruling has become a landmark for the state's civil rights law, the next few months may decide how enduring the result will be for the same-sex couples in California.
And the question now is whether the ruling will hold up. The Supreme Court ruling becomes final only in mid-June, when same-sex couples will have the legal right to get marriage licenses at city halls across California.
Groups against same-sex marriage are reportedly trying to qualify a ballot initiative for November that would amend the state constitution regarding marriage, a move that would effectively trump the Supreme Court's ruling.
