The Proposition 8 trial is the first gay marriage trial to be held in federal court.  No matter what the outcome of the trial in California, the case is expected to make it to the Supreme Court and could determine if marriage is defined as between one man and one woman or if equal marriage rights will be extended to everyone.

One of the most interesting exchanges in the trial so far was when the judge asked, “If California would simply get out of the marriage business and classify everyone as a domestic partnership, would that solve the problem?”  The lawyer arguing for gay marriage rights, Theodore Olson, said that change would address any constitutional issues about the current differences between gay marriage and civil unions. However, he believes it would not be politically viable for the government to stop performing marriages and only issue civil unions.