California Supreme Court legalises gay marriage

California’s Supreme Court has declared that gay couples in the US’s most populous state can marry – a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after – religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.