So what will change? - Pt 2

Legally, not much will be different between those same sex couples who marry and those who have previously registered as domestic partners. One of the supporting reasons the California Supreme Court gave in its gay marriage opinion was that literally - as I noted in another post - same sex partners already have all of the rights and responsibilities that the State of California can provide to individuals who marry.

The outstanding problem - and one the folks from other states who are funneling money into the State of California to prevent this - is that the ONE legal difference that comes about from giving California same sex couples the opportunity to marry is that it now gives those couples "standing" (a magic word in the legal world) to raise objections to the federal "Defense of Marriage Act" which provides (among other things) that for purposes of federal law, "married" will only refer to a marriage between a man and a woman.