Despite the decision to allow a ballot measure set for November which would amend the California State Constitution and make same sex marriage illegal, the California Supreme Court has decided to allow same-sex marriages starting June 17.

"If God doesn’t punish San Francisco, He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology," goes an old joke. But whether or not California passes the California Marriage Protection Act, California truly does owe America an apology.

Thanks to a petition with over 1.1 million signatures, the California Marriage Protection Act, a measure defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman will be on the California ballot this November. This measure would amend the state’s constitution, making same-sex marriage illegal, effectively re-instating the gay marriage ban that had been struck down May 15 by the California Supreme Court. Despite the forthcoming ballot measure, the court has ruled that until the measure can be voted on in November, gay and lesbian marriages will take place starting June 17.

"In doing so…this court will make the 2000 Florida presidential recount seem like a high school debate," says the California Family Council. With 56 percent of Californians polled by ccAdvertising saying they oppose same-sex marriage, and a similar poll by the Los Angeles Times describing 54 percent opposed to and only 35 percent of Californians in favor of same-sex marriage, the California Marriage Protection Act has a good chance of passing — a real victory for the pro-family cause. Allowing gay marriage in the mean time, however, may cause a Pandora’s box of legal chaos that could rock the nation.

TIME Magazine noted June 11 that, "Because California's rules do not make residency a requirement for a marriage license, out-of-staters (sic) want to take their new marital status back home and try to sue for recognition, widening the legal and constitutional battle over same-sex marriage." Thousands are expected to pour into the state from across the nation over the next five months to obtain a marriage license.

“67,000 or so (gay and lesbian couples) are expected to arrive from other states” says Brad Sears, a UCLA law professor who co-authored a report on the number at the Williams Institute. Should the California Marriage Protection Act pass, it may annul the unions made during these five months, causing awkward and potentially costly legal situations in other states. Even Sears admitted in the Los Angeles Times, "It would be a novel question for the courts."

California isn’t the only state making victory bitter sweet in this battle of the banns. On May 14, Gov. David A. Patterson of New York, "directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada," making his state the first to recognize gay marriages but not perform them. This would turn New York into a haven for married partners wed in California who want to keep their legal status as a married couple.

The question then arises, if California doesn’t want homosexual marriage, as the polls and petition indicate, and New Yorkers haven’t even been asked whether or not they want it, how is it that gay marriage is gaining such political advantage? If this government is one "deriving …just powers from the consent of the governed," as it says in the Constitution, why are two of the largest and most influential states making rules that do not reflect the will of the people?

Suddenly it is easy to see how gay marriage could wedge its way into states without permanently overhauling state constitutions. It seems the gay "community" may have discovered a run-end around many states' constitutions by achieving, at least for now, a temporary re-instatement of same-sex marriage, then suing to make recognition of their new status legal in their home states.

By allowing even a window of time for gay couples to get married, California has set a precedent. It will be up to the residents in other states to make sure that gay couples who get married in California don’t come home and win the battles against the family in their own states. Meanwhile, let’s hope the residents of California and New York make their voices heard.