Bill to Recognize Gay Marriages Performed Outside California Before Prop 8 Passes Assembly Committee

A bill that would recognize what may be thousands of same-sex marriages performed outside of California sailed through a policy committee Thursday, increasing the likelihood that the latest post-Proposition 8 dilemma will be thrown into the lap of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Assembly Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 54 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, with seven Democrats supporting the measure and three Republicans voting against it. The bill addresses a question left unanswered by the California Supreme Court ruling in Strauss v. Horton, 46 Cal.4th 364: How does the state treat same-sex marriages performed in other states that do authorize those unions? SB 54 would recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples performed outside California before Prop 8 became official on Nov. 5. Same-sex couples married after that date would receive the same rights and obligations of opposite-sex newlyweds, although their unions would not be called "marriage" in California. Full Story from Law.com

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