The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has long supported gay and lesbian rights, with grants totaling nearly $23.6 million over the last five years. Nearly seven years ago, the Fund became one of the first foundations to provide significant funding to support the freedom to marry, and the first non-gay identified foundation to champion this issue. Since then, the Fund has been a leading funder in marriage equality, including grants to key national legal and advocacy organizations through collaborative work with other foundation partners.

So when the California Supreme Court handed down its decision on May 15 allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, it was cause for celebration.

“This is a truly historic and expansive ruling,” exulted Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the organizations supported by the Fund that legally challenged the state’s ban on gay marriage. Her cheer was echoed by thousands of couples all around the state and across the nation. The National Center for Lesbian Rights filed suit on behalf of many of the couples whose 2004 marriages in San Francisco were declared null and void.

In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled in favor of the couples and in so doing, paved the way for gay and lesbian couples to be afforded the same right to marry as heterosexual couples. The ruling went into effect on June 16.

Chief Justice Ronald George wrote the opinion, which holds: “In light of the fundamental nature of the substantive rights embodied in the right to marry—and their central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society—the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all individuals and couples, without regard to their sexual orientation.”

The Haas, Jr. Fund congratulates the organizations that helped bring about this victory, and is immensely proud to have supported them.