SAN FRANCISCO: Court arguments begin on same-sex marriage Panel to decide constitutionality of state's ban
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A state appeals court that will decide whether California's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional focused Monday on whether preserving the historic definition of marriage and promoting child-rearing by fathers and mothers are legitimate reasons for upholding the law.

Lawyers for the state and two conservative organizations, appearing before a three-judge Court of Appeal panel in San Francisco, agreed that California's definition of marriage as the union of a man and a woman is constitutional and that a judge's March 2005 ruling to the contrary should be overturned. But they gave sharply contrasting arguments to a court that also seemed divided.
the rest