California voters have approved a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage that overturns the state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago.

The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay rights activists. They had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough to help them defeat the measure.

It also represents a personal loss for the thousands of couples from California and others states who got married in the brief window when they could. Legal experts have said it will have to be resolved in court whether their unions still are valid.

Gino Meriano, Founder of Pink Weddings LLC says "It's now time for change, we have rights - human rights and under no circumstances must we accept anything less that equal rights when couples look to seal and protect their relationship".

Mr Meriano will now look to introduce a proposition that gains equal legal rights for same-sex couples called the "Civil Partnership Proposition".

This will divorce any attachment to the word "marriage" and hence remove religious beliefs or dogma from legal rights and state recognition provided for gay and lesbian couples. It solves any objections from those who believe in the supposed sanctity of a union between a man and a woman, and in turn legally recognizes same-sex couples as legal partners with the same rights as opposite-sex couples.

Meriano continues "we have fought hard in the UK and won, we now have Civil Partnerships and equal rights, this is no longer about language but rights. We seek change and we believe the time is now".

Meriano returns to Arizona in November to kick start this new campaign.