California Dreamin'

The trial over California's Proposition 8 is set to begin on January 11. Represented by former Bush v. Gore adversaries Theodore Olsen and David Boies, the plaintiffs contend that the United States Constitution prohibits states from defining marriage to exclude same-sex couples. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks. Some activists have expressed concern that the lawsuit is premature and risks setting a precedent that could set back the marriage equality movement. Time has an article about the upcoming trial and the debate over the lawsuit's timing.

In other California news, the Bay Area Reporter notes that Senate Bill 54, which clarifies that same-sex couples who married outside of California before Proposition 8 went into effect are recognized as married spouses, as are the approximately 18,000 couples married in California when the unions were legal, became law on January 1.