Calif. high court to review gay marriage

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court agreed unanimously yesterday to decide whether same-sex couples should be permitted to wed, prolonging the legal battle for another year.

Meeting in closed session, the state's highest court voted without comment to review an October appeals court ruling that upheld the prohibition on same-sex marriage. The court is not expected to issue a ruling until the end of next year.

Yesterday's decision does not necessarily mean that the state high court disagrees with the lower-court ruling. Although the Supreme Court could have let the ruling stand, the court often reviews decisions it supports if the case has statewide importance.

Christian conservatives, satisfied with the appeals court decision, had urged the court not to take up the case. But a lawyer for one group opposed to same-sex marriage expressed confidence that his side would prevail.

"History, common sense, and legal precedent are on our side," said Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, which promotes Christian values in the law. "Marriage as the union of one man and one woman transcends political ideology and is grounded in millennia of human history."

Other opponents of same-sex marriage called the court's decision ominous.

Randy Thomasson, a spokesman for the VoteYesMarriage.com coalition, which hopes to place an initiative against same-sex marriage on the 2008 ballot, said the measure would be "the only way to stop judges and politicians from destroying the beautiful, natural institution of marriage between a man and a woman."