Perhaps nothing. According to California Attorney General, Jerry
Brown, the passage of State Proposition 8 does not retroactively
invalidate the 18,000 same sex marriages that occured in California
between June 16, 2008 (when the California Supreme Court allowed same
sex marriages) and Tuesday (when Prop 8 was passed).
As
Attorney General Jerry Brown has stated in previous court papers and as
he reaffirmed to the San Francisco Chronicle, those marriages should
remain valid notwithstanding Proposition 8's possible passage. On
August 5, 2008, Brown told the Chronicle, "I believe that marriages
that have been entered into subsequent to the May 15 Supreme Court
opinion will be recognized by the California Supreme Court,' He noted
that Proposition is silent about retroactivity, and said, 'I would
think the court, in looking at the underlying equities, would most
probably conclude that upholding the marriages performed in that
interval before the election would be a just result.'"
There is absolutely nothing in the language of Proposition 8 to suggest
that the initiative would apply to couples who have already legally
married. Unless the language of an initiative specifically says that it
is to be applied retroactively, California's courts have been very
reluctant to do so, especially when the newly passed measure is in such
stark conflict with existing constitutional provisions.
Opponents of Prop 8 conceded defeat today, but vowed to fight on for same sex marriage rights. Legal challenges continue.
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