More Than Just a Piece of Paper

Other federal rights include veteran's benefits, continued water rights, joint filing of bankruptcy, and tax-free transfer of property between spouses.

And the decision is threatened by a ballot initiative in November that would amend the state's constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. In California, ballot initiatives supersede legislation and court decisions.

Since Massachusetts made gay marriage legal in 2003, 28 states have considered measures to ban the practice and 27 of them passed.

But prominent gay activists in California are not worried about the initiative.

"In the next six months, thousands of couples will take advantage of the law of the land and get married," said Osborn. "[Gov.] Schwarzenegger has come out against the initiative, and I really feel that love is a transformative power. There's always a possibility of a backlash anytime people move forward, but I'm optimistic."

Jacobs believes that the decision could help fuel the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act.

"This is the seventh-largest economy in the world, a seventh of the nation's population. This is not Massachusetts," he explained.

"When California takes a stand on fuel standards and the environment, that resonates. Time is on our side. It's the eve of my 50th birthday and my partner and I are going out to celebrate tonight."