Prop. 8 Pushes Gay Couples to Wed Before Election Day
Long Beach Press Telegram
By Melissa Evans
October 31, 2008

Theodore Johnson and his husband, Luke, were planning to wed Feb. 22 to mark their 11th anniversary.

But because of the uncertainty over Proposition 8, which would define marriage as between a man and woman, the South Bay gay couple, like many others, pushed up their wedding date - just in case.

"It was kind of sad that we couldn't invite anybody," said Johnson, who was married Oct.12 at Cherished Vows Wedding Chapel in Lomita. "Nobody knows what's going to happen, and we didn't want to risk it."

Wedding coordinators and ministers have been busier in the last weeks leading up to Tuesday's election, when voters will decide the fate of Proposition 8.

Still unclear, however, is what will happen to marriages that have already taken place since June, when the California Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to discriminate against same-sex couples who want to marry.

Soon after the court decision, opponents of gay marriage gathered signatures to place the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

Researchers at UCLA estimate that about 16,000 same-sex couples have married in the last four months, with 36 percent of those marriages taking place within the last six weeks.

California is home to about 110,000 same-sex couples, according to UCLA researchers. Estimates of same-sex marriages were derived by comparing the number of marriage licenses granted this time last year with the number this year, along Advertisement with survey data, said Gary Gates, a senior research fellow.

Gates added that it is impossible to determine how many of these newly married same-sex couples live outside of California.

Legal experts are conflicted about what might happen to existing same-sex marriages if Proposition 8 passes. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said he believes the unions will be upheld, largely because the measure is not retroactive.

Many couples aren't risking it. For Redondo Beach resident Shannon Keating and her wife, Pat, legal marriage was their fifth ceremony to celebrate their 24-year relationship.

The two had held commitment ceremonies, and traveled to San Francisco to marry when the city tried to legalize same-sex marriage a few years ago. Those unions were later nullified.

The Keatings married, this time legally, on June 29.

"It's really symbolic on so many levels," said Keating, who has two children and a grandchild. "At its core, this is discrimination. It's discrimination against us, and it's discrimination against our families."