Gay couples fear legal limbo in Cal. vote

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Gay married couples in California face what they fear is legal limbo if Proposition 8 passes next week banning same-sex nuptials, analysts say.

Proposition 8 would amend the state constitution to define marriage as only an act between man and woman but says nothing about the estimated 1,600 same-sex couples who tied the knot since it became legal in California June 17.

Analysts predict a period of "legal chaos" if the proposal passes, The Los Angeles Times said Thursday, with the legality of same-sex marriages performed between June and November suddenly in doubt.

There is plenty of comment from experts on both sides of the question.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown, the state's top law enforcement officer, in a view likely to be challenged, expects Proposition 8, if it passes, would not be retroactive and that existing marriages would stand.

On the other side of the issue, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California-Irvine, told the Times he saw "no clear answer." It would be a situation "to be litigated by the courts."