EDITORIAL: Marriage ruling a leap ahead

There is a lot of euphoria in Laguna Beach about the recent state Supreme Court decision granting same-sex couples the right to marry, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s statement of support.

It’s a great leap forward for a state that has championed gay rights for decades, often in the face of stiff opposition from within and outside.

Hundreds of couples thronged San Francisco City Hall four years ago, when Mayor Gavin Newsom threw open the gates to “real” weddings.

Same-sex couples want and deserve the same recognition of their partnerships that heterosexual couples enjoy.

There is obviously a huge demand for these types of marriages, and that demand can now be served.

Local wedding planners and event venues — and people who own hotels and restaurants — should be giddy with anticipation.

Laguna is likely to be one of the hot spots for same-sex marriages beginning next month, when the decision goes into effect. There seems to be nothing that can stop it now.

The history of same-sex unions has been one of two-steps-forward and one-step-back for many years now. Ironically, while gay and lesbian couples have not been allowed to obtain a civil marriage license in a courthouse, they have been able to get church-sanctioned wedding ceremonies for quite a few years.

While intense opposition to same-sex marriage has come from some religious quarters, priests in other denominations, especially members of the Episcopal church in the U.S., have been performing the solemn ritual of same-sex church weddings for many years.

California is the most populous state in the U.S., and for this state to sanction official marriages between same-sex couples is enormous.

With all the joy and wedding-planning going on, it should not be forgotten that California’s action won’t provide the federal tax and survivor benefits granted to heterosexual married couples.

Only when the U.S. government recognizes same-sex marriages on an equal footing with “straight” marriages will true parity be achieved.