Gay marriage abolished in California referendum

In a defeat for the gay-rights movement, California voters have put a stop to gay marriage, creating uncertainty about the legal status of 18,000 same-sex couples who tied the knot during a four-month window of opportunity opened by the state’s highest court.

Passage of a constitutional amendment against gay marriage – in a state so often at the forefront of liberal social change – elated religious conservatives who had little else to cheer about in the US elections.