Calif. referendum on gay marriage expected

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Will high court delay ruling?
“We have a different electorate than we did eight years ago. They’re more inclined to vote against the constitutional amendment,” Cook said.

Perhaps more importantly, Californians this time might have witnessed hundreds of gay marriages by November. Opponents of gay marriage will ask the high court to stay Thursday’s decision, but the court is not obligated to do so.

If gay marriages become a reality this summer, Cook said, voters will be faced with the choice of disappointing their neighbors and relatives. Some think that will only happen in San Francisco but Cook disagreed.

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“People who live in Fresno are going to know gay people who are going to be married,” he said.

California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors of the anti-gay marriage ballot measure gathered enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement he respected the court's decision and "will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling."