California native Allison Subasic was overjoyed when California legalized same-sex marriage in May.
Subasic, the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people and their Allies (LGBTA) Student Resource Center, has many married friends in California -- both gay and straight -- and said she is disappointed that Californians have reversed that decision.
Californians voted Tuesday in favor of Proposition 8, a proposed amendment to the California constitution that states "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Similar referendums succeeded in Florida and Arizona.
Subasic fears if a supposedly liberal state like California bans gay marriage, other states may follow suit.
"I think it will give them some momentum to try to challenge it in other states," she said.
It is unclear how a ban on gay marriage will affect already married gay couples, said Robert Rains, a professor in the Penn State Dickinson School of Law.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office released a court filing in August that said as he interpreted it, the new law would not affect gay couples who have already married, but Rains said that's only Brown's opinion.
"If you look at the actual language of the proposition, it's short and sweet," Rains said.
That language would seemingly dissolve pre-existing same-sex marriages, but Article 1, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution says the state may not impair "the obligation of contracts." Dissolving already existing marriages could be unconstitutional under that standard, Rains said
LGBT community member Alex Yates (sophomore-secondary education) said the election presented a mixed bag of emotions because of Proposition 8.
"As Barack Obama was becoming our president-elect, California along with Florida and Arizona were all saying 'no' to gay marriage," he said, adding, "Since California and Florida are blue states, you forget not all Democrats are in favor of gay marriage."
State College Mayor Bill Welch presided over a commitment ceremony in March, which drew about 700 Penn State students and State College residents.
Yates hopes amendments similar to Proposition 8 won't stop commitments like that ceremony from one day becoming legal in Pennsylvania and other states. He expects Obama to fight for the rights of gay Americans.
"We hope that he will stick to his guns, but we've been shown otherwise in the past," he said.
Joe Ramagli, chairman of conservative group Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), said the passing of Proposition 8 in a traditionally liberal state like California is a sign gay marriage is not a partisan issue.
"This is an issue that in many ways transcends political ideology," he said.
Ramagli said YAF believes in preserving the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, but he is personally not opposed to the idea of civil unions.
He said he liked that Americans, instead of a judge, made the decision about gay marriage.
"It went through the people," he said. "That's what happens in a democracy."
