“In 1863, Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address that ours is a government ‘of the people, by the people and for the people.’ Well, not in the state of California, where four imperious and unelected justices have just overridden the will of the voters. In 2000, Proposition 22 defined marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman; the initiative passed by an overwhelming margin of 61 to 39 percent. That emphatic expression of the will of the people has now arrogantly been declared null and void.
“In so doing, the justices have undermined and endangered the basic building block of society, which has been honored and preserved in every nation on earth through most of human history. What an outrage. It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment in the November elections. Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny.” -- Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family
“I respect the court’s decision, and as governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.” -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
“The government should promote and encourage strong families. The only way to make sure it does so in California is to amend the state constitution to protect marriage.” -- Glen Lavy, senior counsel of Alliance Defense Fund
“This is a decision that strengthens California families.” -- Joe Solmonese, president of the homosexual advocacy group Human Rights Campaign
“The California Supreme Court has taken a jackhammer to the democratic process.” -- Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council
“Every piece of statutory language that … excluded gays and lesbians is stricken. We are free to marry anyone.” -- Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights
“No matter how you stretch California’s Constitution, you cannot find anywhere in its text, its history, or tradition that now, after so many years, it magically protects what most societies condemn. The California Supreme Court has defied logic, undermined the will of the people, and weakened our future.” -- Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel
“Yesterday marriage in California was defined by who it excluded. Today it’s defined by who is included.” -- Selisse Berry, Out&Equal, a homosexual-pressure group
“Most Americans understand that marriage is not bigotry. It is common sense … because they are the unions that both make new life and connect those children to their own mother and father.” -- Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
“The ruling today is the glorious result of decades of nonviolent activism by many brave souls.” -- Jeff Lutes, executive director of SoulForce, a homosexual advocacy group that pickets Christian colleges and ministries
“This outrageous ruling shows how our most cherished institutions are being destroyed by the tyrannical actions of an out-of-control judiciary. The California Supreme Court took judicial activism to a whole new level.” -- Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center
“What happens in California, either way, will have a huge impact around the nation. It will set the tone.” -- Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality California
“I can’t wait to get married. … P.S.: I’m registered at Crate & Barrel.” -- Openly gay actress Ellen DeGeneres
“This decision, unless revoked by the people of California, will serve as a wrecking ball to the institution of marriage in the Golden State. Those who will suffer the most will be California’s children who will grow up (unless the people intervene) with a confused concept of God’s plan for marriage.” -- Coral Ridge Ministries
“This was a prize of inestimable value.” -- Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union
"We empathize with the people of California in this direct attack on democracy and the rule of law." -- Kris Mineau, president of Massachusetts Family Institute
