CA Supreme Court to hear marriage case March 5

Hey, marriage fans!

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately, but I fell victim to that nasty bronchitis going around and was out of commission for a few weeks. I'm just finally feeling back to my cheery, bloggerific self - and feeling very ready to catch up on so much that's happened! Lots of news to report - watch for a flurry of posts in the next week.

In the meantime, I wanted to alert you all to mark March 5 on your calendars - it's the date the California Supreme Court will be hearing the oral arguments on the legality of Prop. 8.

A little more info from the L.A. Times:

The hearing is one of the most anticipated in the court's history. Supporters and opponents of Proposition 8 will make their case about whether the measure should be invalidated. Pro-gay marriage groups filed a lawsuit after the November election, saying the gay marriage ban violated the state Constitution.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown at first said he would defend Proposition 8, but then he changed his mind and argued that it was unconstitutional. Backers of the measure have filed briefs supporting the ban. According to the court, justices will consider three issues:

-- Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution? (Christa's note: I believe Jerry Brown already said no on this point)

-- Does Proposition 8 violate the separation of powers doctrine under the California Constitution?

-- If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

What are your thoughts on the three points of discussion?

I'm very, very interested to see how the third point is addressed. Under the "no ex post facto" concept of the Rule of Law, the legality of an action has to be based on the way the laws were on the books at the time the action happened. In this case, that would mean that gay marriage was legal at that point... but, then again, how legal was it for the court to overturn Prop. 22?

Anyways, back to the trenches for me - watch for some more info coming soon, though, and be sure to check out the brilliant blogs of my DNA colleagues!