TOO EARLY TO CELEBRATE? WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE By Rivka Israel-Moss Marcus Family Law Center, PLC We live in exciting times. Recently the Supreme Court issued a ruling which has received much attention statewide as well as across the country. This Supreme Court decision has been referred to by some as “new law” or changes in the law and many focus only on the potential positives in the situation. There is some confusion about what this court decision actually means to the lay person. I was asked to write this article to address this question.   The Supreme Court decision is not actually new law, though it may seem to be. In theory, the Supreme Court does not make new law but clarifies or interprets for us what the existing law is. A Supreme Court decision can, however, require or necessitate changes to the existing statutes to conform to existing constitutional law. This means that, according to the Justices of the Supreme Court, Same-Sex Marriage has always been legal and denial of the right in the past was a violation of the state constitution. The Supreme Court found that the statutes that conflict with this existing constitutional law must be changed. A Supreme Court Decision becomes final 30 days after the filing of the Decision unless an extension is ordered. This rule exists in order to allow a party to file a Remitter or Petition for Rehearing. If a Petition for Rehearing is filed and granted the underlying decision and any opinions filed in the case are vacated. Basically, we start over.   The Supreme Court decision has not yet become final. As expected, opponents to the decision filed a Petition for Rehearing. As of June 4, 2008, the Supreme Court in a very close 4/3 vote denied the Petition for Rehearing. In the interim, opponents to Gay Marriage have taken action to amend the state constitution. If they are successful the matter will be out of the hands of the local judiciary. As to the question “So, should we run out and get married?”, while I can not give legal advice in an article, I would suggest proceeding with care. We do not yet know how the existing law will be affected by the current legal climate. At this time we have two distinct bodies of statutory law, one for Domestic Partnerships and one for Marriage. If the Supreme Court decision ultimately stands and the opponents to Gay Marriage fail at writing discrimination into our state constitution the separate bodies of statutory law pertaining to Domestic Partnerships and Marriage will have to change. We do not yet know what they will change to. In addition, while our Domestic Partnership statutes recognize Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships from other states, our statutes specifically exclude recognition of Same-Sex Marriages from other states. Recognition of our relationships in other states may be significantly affected by one’s choice to marry or by the replacement of the title Domestic Partnerships with Marriage.   Based on the current legal climate, I would suggest sitting tight and waiting as it is too early in the process to make decisions that will significantly impact our personal lives.   Rivka Israel-Moss is an attorney with the Marcus Family Law Center, which has offices in San Diego and in El Centro.  She can be reached at marcussd@barefootlawyer.com.