"Today's ruling affirms that lesbian and gay couples have the same need for the legal protections of marriage and the same right to equal protection and dignity under the law," he added.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, conservative and pro-family groups criticised the "ludicrous" opinion and pledged to fight until the ruling is overturned.
"This is a crazy ruling by an arrogant San Francisco judge who apparently hates marriage and the voters," said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families (CCF), one of the groups that filed a lawsuit against Mayor Newsom last year.
According to Thomasson, CCF plans to appeal the ruling at a higher court.
"Kramer has trashed the people's vote to keep marriage for a man and a woman and violated his oath to uphold the law instead of making new laws out of his own head," explained Thomasson. "This is the worst type of judge. This case will be immediately appealed."
Lawyers from Liberty Counsel, the legal group that represented CCF in yesterday’s case, said they will appeal the ruling immediately.
"This ruling is not the end of the battle," said Mathew Staver, senior counsel and president of LC. "It is just the beginning."
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, agreed that the battle has just begun.
"Today's court decision will bolster efforts in Congress to vote on and pass a marriage protection amendment," said Perkins. "Today's judicial fire drill reinforces the need to fully protect marriage before the next judicial attack on society's most basic institution."
Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute at Concerned Women for America (CWA), called Kramer's ruling "irrational" and "nonsensical".
"Yet another irrational judge, like his counterparts in Massachusetts, can't find a rational reason for defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman," said Knight. "That's because these judges are no longer acting rationally and are imposing their own radical agenda, ignoring the law and the will of the people."
"This trial court ruling will be appealed and reversed, unless the appellate courts are content to allow a rogue judge to make a mockery of the state constitution and turn 'rational basis' into a meaningless term," said Jan LaRue, CWA's chief counsel.
"Any judge who can't find one rational reason for upholding marriage needs to turn in his robe," LaRue stated.
Currently, the California legislature is considering two bills that, if passed, would place a constitutional amendment defining marriage in the traditional sense on the November ballot.
Pauline J. Chang
Ecumenical Press
