On May 15 of last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that under the state constitution, homosexual couples had the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples. Then, on Nov. 4, the citizens of California voted to approve Proposition 8, which added a section to the state’s constitution defining marriage as a union between opposite-sex couples.

During the interim, more than 18,000 same-sex couples were legally married in California. There marriages are now threatened by a California Supreme Court hearing scheduled for March 5. Kenneth Starr, who is representing supporters of Prop 8, wants to nullify all same-sex marriages that were performed before its Election Day passage.

Courage Campaign, a California activist organization, asked same-sex couples that took advantage of this brief spell of equal rights, along with their families and friends, to send in pictures to make this video, which has circulated rapidly online. It serves as a simple but eloquent plea from California's LGBT community: “Don’t divorce us.”

This issue has polarized citizens both in California and throughout the nation, including Philadelphia. The campaigns for and against Prop 8 have raised more than $80 million, making it the second-most highly funded political contest of the year — right behind the presidential election.

Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution declares that “No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” Will the California Supreme Court maintain the standards set out in our Constitution, or will they destroy the legal marriages of thousands of loving couples? Or who knows — maybe they can pass another amendment making retroactive laws legal.

Cali’s Courage Campaign goes viral with Prop 8 protest video