San Francisco Chronicle Editorial: The long drive toward equality

EDITORIAL
The long drive toward equality
Wednesday, August 3, 2005

THE CASE was about a domestic partner's right to play golf, but the underlying issue is the many forms of entrenched discrimination against same- sex couples.

California's Supreme Court declared this week, "A business that extends benefits to spouses it denies to registered domestic partners engages in impermissible marital status discrimination."

The court's unanimous ruling, reached in the case of a lesbian couple challenging a golf club's spousal-privilege policies, was welcome and overdue. It is expected to help knock down other discriminatory practices on everything from mortgages to automobile insurance discounts.

It also carries political implications that may not necessarily advance the cause of equal rights. Some of the cautious politicians who like to argue that domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians are a suitable substitute for marriage might try to cite the court ruling as evidence that equality has been achieved.

Meanwhile, the forces that want to undo the hard-fought but still-limited rights that same-sex couples have acquired in this state immediately chastised the ruling. Even as the justices were considering this case, petitions were being readied for a June 2006 ballot measure (proponents' Web site: voteyesmarriage.com) that would effectively wipe out domestic partner laws.

Californians can continue to fight this civil-rights battle point by point, or they can encourage their representatives in Sacramento to support legislation (AB849 by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco) to lift the many enduring vestiges of discrimination against same-sex couples. Leno's proposal would finally extend an opportunity for the rights and responsibilities of marriage to all Californians.

This is not a trivial matter of golf-club memberships. Even with the state's landmark domestic partners law that the Supreme Court upheld this week, same-sex couples continue to encounter too many legal barriers to providing stability and economic security for each other and their children. Only marriage can bridge that gap.

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