If you were disappointed by last night's results showing a victory for a ban on same-sex marriage in California, brace yourself for what comes next. By various estimates, more than 11,000 gay couples have tied the knot in the state. (The real number is probably higher). While it would be wonderful if those marriages are not challenged in court, it's certain they will be. Legal experts are divided on whether the marriages will be ruled invalid because of the now enacted constitutional ban.  And the initiative itself, Prop 8, could be thrown out by the courts. But there's a decent chance that thousands of married gay couples will have their marriages cancelled.

What to do? First off, supporters of same-sex marriage need to highlight the issue and fight like hell in the courts. But policy makers also need to plan for the possibility that the court fight will fail. The real trouble is that some gay couples replaced their domestic partnerships with marriages. So a cancellation of their marriage could leave them without any formal legal bond. It might be wise to enact legislation -- and I would hope that supporters of Prop 8 (that is opponents of same-sex marriage) would support this -- that would automatically transfer any and all cancelled marriages back into domestic partnerships. Unless of course, the couple themselves opt out.