Updated: Reactions to Supreme Court rulings on same-same sex marriage

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Gay marriage supporters celebrate in West Hollywood. Photo: Brandon Nightingale
Gay marriage supporters celebrate in West Hollywood. Photo: Brandon Nightingale (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

It’s been a long and exciting day for supporters of same-sex marriage. On this evening’s Which Way, LA? we looked at how soon gay marriage might be reinstated in California, what it could mean for various same-sex couples and where public opinion stands now. Listen below:

KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis looks at how same-sex marriage supporters and opponents are responding to today’s Supreme Court decisions on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8.

Today’s U.S. Supreme Court rulings on Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act are seen as giant steps forward in the gay rights movement. Meanwhile, conservative groups say they will continue to defend Prop 8 and seek its enforcement. Bill Duncan is the director of the Marriage Law Foundation, and spoke to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis.

Whittier gay activist David Flores. Photo by Gina Delvac.
Whittier gay activist David Flores. Photo by Gina Delvac. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

David Flores, a gay activist from Whittier, walked down Sunset Boulevard this afternoon carrying a large rainbow “pride” flag and an American flag. “Before we’re gay we’re Americans first,” Flores said, “and we’re entitled to every equality as any other American.”

Gay marriage may be on the verge of becoming legal again in California, but Ron Wallen got in on the nuptials when it was legal here, before Proposition 8 passed. Both he and his late-husband Tom Carrollo, the man he’d been with for 55 years, served in the U.S. military.

Wallen couldn’t have access to Carrollo’s federal benefits because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which today, was struck down by the Supreme Court. Ron Wallen spoke with KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis from his home in Palm Springs:

On today’s To the Point, we hear responses to the Supreme Court decisions. We hear the legal details and the emotional reaction from both sides, who agree on one thing: traditional marriage is changing fast. Listen here.

Update 2:45 KCRW interview with West Hollywood City Council Member John Duran about what’s next for California

John Duran told KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez, “30 days from now I expect I will be marrying couples right where I’m standing.”