Last week the California Supreme Court overturned a California state law which only allowed marriage between a man and a woman in a 4-3 ruling. The decision will allow same-sex couples to marry starting June 14th.

California is the second state to legalize same-sex marriage. This is a huge victory for California and the country as we move forward during this election year. The California Supreme Court has historically set a precedent in their decisions. California was also the first state to allow inter-racial marriage in 1948 in Perez v. California which led to other states following suit and the U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia in 1967.

People all over the nation have been celebrating this historic moment. I for one am extremely proud of my home state and look forward to attending the marriage ceremonies of many couples in my home town church in Palm Springs.

While we have a great deal to celebrate we must not forget that the fight is not over. As I wrote earlier in my post “Stopping the Religious Right from Taking Over California” 1.1 million signatures were submitted for a ballot initiative that would constitutionally ban same sex marriage. The signatures are currently being checked and by June we will know if the initiative will be on the November ballot.

It is imperative that we keep the momentum from this joyous decision going into the November election to ensure that Californians continue to have equal rights under the law.