( CNN ) -- Those trying to reinstitute Proposition 8 -- the voter-backed referendum to ban gay marriage in California -- lost once again in court on Wednesday , meaning no stop to such legal unions that resumed a few weeks ago . In two brief rulings , California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye dismissed attempts by opponents of same-sex marriage . One was brought by ProtectMarriage.com , the group that 's led legal efforts defending what 's known as Prop 8 , and the other came from a San Diego County clerk who 'd argued the state had put him in an `` untenable position '' by compelling him to sign off on marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples . The rulings were the latest in a spate of decisions -- at the state and federal level , including the U.S. Supreme Court -- that have gone against those trying to restrict marriage in the Golden State to between one man and one woman . Attorney General Kamala Harris was among those gay marriage supporters who cheered Wednesday 's ruling , much as they have the others in recent months . She tweeted : `` The CA Supreme court has denied the # Prop8 proponents ' request to halt same-sex marriages ! '' `` # Prop8 dead for good , '' tweeted Equality California , the state 's biggest gay , lesbian , bisexual and transgender advocacy group . `` CA Supr . Ct. refuses last remaining legal challenge . Freedom to marry here to stay . '' Those on the other side of the debate , meanwhile , lamented Wednesday 's ruling and more generally criticized state leaders who , in their view , had `` silenced more than 7 million Californians who clearly expressed their views . '' Case challenges Pennsylvania 's ban on same-sex marriage . `` Though the current California officials are unwilling to support the state constitution , we remain hopeful that one day Californians will elect officials who will , '' Alliance Defending Freedom , a legal advocacy organization , said in a statement . `` ... The court 's decision today ... does not end the debate about marriage in California . '' In May 2008 , California 's Supreme Court struck down the state 's ban on same-sex marriage , ruling that the state 's constitution gives `` this basic civil right to ( marry to ) all Californians , whether gay or heterosexual , and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples . '' The tide turned a few months later , when 52 % of voters backed Proposition 8 to halt gay and lesbian marriages . Yet state officials declined to stand behind the prohibition , even if private parties did . A federal appeals court subsequently ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional , though it still issued a stay on same-sex marriages until the U.S. Supreme Court could weigh in . That happened June 26 , when the nation 's high court -- in a 5-4 decision -- dismissed an appeal of the earlier lower court ruling on narrow , jurisdictional grounds . Midnight vows : Same-sex couples ring in new lives as law takes effect . Two days later , the Ninth U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals officially lifted the previous injunction , and same-sex weddings took place very soon thereafter . Proposition 8 backers tried to get the U.S. Supreme Court to again intervene , but Justice Anthony Kennedy refused to do so . Efforts continued , though , in the state court system . One came from San Diego County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg , who last month asked the California Supreme Court to order Gov . Jerry Brown , Harris and other state officials to abide by an `` immediate temporary stay '' to once again halt same-sex marriages . Dronenburg argued that he had been `` threatened with legal action by the attorney general for exercising his public duties consistent with state law defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman . '' Yet the state Supreme Court responded days later by denying the county clerk 's request to stop same-sex marriages immediately . On Wednesday , Cantil-Sakauye officially dismissed Dronenburg 's petition .
NEW : Gay marriage foes lament the decision , but the debate in California is n't over . California 's chief justice dismisses an attempt by foes of same - sex marriage . Proposition 8 is ` ` dead for good , '' an LGBT rights activist says after the ruling . California passed Prop 8 banning gay marriage ; federal courts knocked down the ban .