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Senior Meghan Bowman wouldn't have missed standing in the cold and drizzle for anything, not even class.
Holding a sign declaring, "We all deserve the freedom to marry" in one hand and a candle in the other, Bowman was making sure her voice would be heard March 4, the day before the California Supreme Court deliberated on the legality of Proposition 8.
Surrounded by at least 100 of her peers, both gay and straight, Bowman was proud to see the support, she said.
"It's important," she said. "I am, and a lot of my friends are gay, and its important to have the right to choose to marry."
Surrounding her were students from A.S. Pride, people from around the community and Forbestown resident Betty Peters, who stopped in Chico because the trip to the Capitol building was too far away, to take part in the Eve of Justice vigil.
"Things need to be done right for everyone," said Peters, the mother of a gay son. "It's very important that the state Supreme Court rights a wrong."
Peters, wearing a shirt displaying "Proud Mom" atop a rainbow flag was happy the Supreme Court was looking into reversing Proposition 8.
"Everyone deserves to be treated equally," she said.
The vigil was an effort, along with 27 other cities throughout California, to show support for the reverse of Proposition 8, according to a press release.
The following day, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments from Attorney General Jerry Brown, who argued that Proposition 8 exceeds the legal limit of an initiative by taking away a legal right.
Another argument is that the measure is not an amendment but a revision of the Constitution, which can only be placed on the ballot by a two-thirds legislative vote, which Proposition 8 did not go through, Brown said.
Lawyer Kenneth Starr argued that Prop 8 doesn't take away the rights of individuals to marry.
"Proposition 8 does not erode any of the bundle of rights that this state has very generously provided," he said,
The oral arguments came after May, when the California Supreme Court overturned, in a 4-3 ruling, California's ban on same-sex marriages, which was later overturned by a vote in November's election.
But this time it's a different issue for the court to decide on.
"Here we are dealing with the power of the people, the inalienable right, to amend the Constitution," Justice Joyce Kennard said during Thursday's proceeding.
A final decision is expected in the next 90 days.
But the court will not overturn same-sex marriages that were processed between May and November of last year, according to the California Supreme Court.
More than 18,000 same-sex marriages were reported during that time, according to state documents.
This comes as good news for Rob Regur, leader of Butte County's chapter of Marriage Equality USA.
Regur, who married in October, doesn't want his marriage overturned, he said. This and wanting to make people aware of marriage equality led him to hold a candle during the March 4 vigil.
"We love just as much as anyone else," Regur said.
Connor Ramey can be reached at cramey@theorion.com
Related links Protect Marriage Marriage Equality USA
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