May
14 Gay Marriage Ruling on Thursday

California's state Supreme Court will deliver its ruling on Thursday on whether the state can continue to ban same sex marriages.

The repercussions are obviously huge, not only because it may clear the way for same-sex marriage in the largest state in the country, but it has potential political ramifications come November.

Opponents of same-sex marriage are expected to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot then, leading to the question of whether John McCain campaigns in favor of a gay marriage ban and thereby inspires enough turnout on the right to put California in play. The wild card in all of this is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed McCain but is on record as opposing the proposed constitutional amendment.

Backers of the amendment last month submitted 1.1 million signatures to get the ban on the November ballot. The Secretary of State is analyzing the documents to verify if they have the 694,354 needed to qualify.