Seven million Californians are in favour of gay marriage becoming legal. Home to 98,000 same-sex couples, if California would just come to the party already it would be one of the gay rights movement’s biggest achievements ever. But a petition lodged yesterday by groups that still want to limit marriage to a man and a woman has put the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the state on hold.

Legal and religious groups, who believe same-sex marriage should remain outlawed in California, have asked a federal appeals court to review the recent decision which effectively cleared the way for gay couples wanting to wed in the state.

In that court decision, two out of three judges declared the state’s gay marriage ban, known as Proposition 8, to be a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians. But with this split decision now under scrutiny again, same-sex marriage will have to remain on hold, at least until the appeals court decides whether or not it will review the decision.

At present, six US states allow gay marriage (Connecticut, New Hampshire, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont).  Washington may soon follow suit, since the governor has now signed a bill which should make it the seventh state.

[Source: Times Live]