Walker rejected the defendants' argument that plaintiffs were asking for the court to recognize some new right of same-sex marriage.

"Plaintiffs do not seek recognition of a new right," he wrote. "To characterize plaintiffs' objective as 'the right to same-sex marriage' would suggest that plaintiffs seek something different from what opposite-sex couples across the state enjoy -- namely, marriage. Rather, plaintiffs ask California to recognize their relationships for what they are: marriages."