EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

The California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 8 -- the controversial ballot question that banned same-sex marriage.

At the same time, the ruling will allow about 18,000 same-sex couples already married, to retain the rights they attained during the brief six-month period that gay marriage was legal in the state.

"There it goes," said Jim Schnobrich, who married his partner of 27 years in Pasadena, Calif., last September. "We have to keep going."

Still, the couple, who have two children, aged 12 and 16, said that they are now in a "weird class," as the ruling preserved their 8-month-old same sex-marriage.

"That's good news, but the bigger thing is that now we have this weird status that other people can't have. There is this kind of equality situation where people are maybe thinking we aren't really married."

"But it's not going to change anything in our lives," he told ABCNews.com. "We feel strongly about equality and will move ahead. But I worry for my kids and how they feel. I want them to be in a place like every other family at their school. It's hard to explain to them."

Christian groups that applauded retention of the ban say that the ruling on those same-sex marriages could create a conflict -- not only in the marital rights of Californians, but in adoption and income tax laws.

"It's disappointing that the court will continue to uphold the legality of those who married during May to November of last year," said Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family in Action. "We don't know what the situation will be like, but it's likely to cause havoc in the courts as they try to deal with a class of individuals that look totally different."

Gay rights advocates, disappointed with the ruling, said their next step would be to "take it back to the voters," said Jennifer Pizer, director of the marriage equality project for Lambda Legal.

Lambda has already launched an educational campaign, Marriage Watch California, that will specifically target the communities of color and diverse church groups, which overwhelmingly supported Proposition 8.

"We will give education and legal support as part of a broad effort all over the state to provide greater visibility on why this issue is important and why there is no basis in the fear mongering from the other side," Pizer told ABCNews.com.

The contentious campaign pitted gay rights activists against Christian church groups including the Mormons, who raised a record $83 million to pass the referendum.

How do you feel about the Supreme Court's desicion to uphold the ban? Was justice served like Thanksgiving dinner, or was it unjust?