San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom criticized President-elect Barack Obama and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for not doing more to stop Proposition 8. (Photo by AP)
RELATED STORIES
On the record
Gavin Newsom, Newt Gingrich, Alan Ball and more...
Marriage fight boils over
Anti-gay group plans national ad campaign to counter developments in Vermont, Iowa
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected legal efforts to stay implementation of Proposition 8, which stripped marriage rights from gay couples and put 18,000 same-sex marriages performed there in legal limbo.
But the court agreed to hear legal challenges to Proposition 8. The court also granted an expedited hearing schedule, with briefings slated for January and oral arguments to be held as early as March.
On Monday, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued his reply to the lawsuits and encouraged the justices to take up the issue and review the measure’s constitutionality.
“The profound importance of the issues raised by Proposition 8 warrants that this matter be reviewed and promptly resolved by the California Supreme Court,” Brown said in a statement.
Brown also said he opposed a stay on Proposition 8, arguing the continuation of same-sex marriage would “increase uncertainty,” and reiterated his opinion that the 18,000 gay couples who wed in California still have valid marriages.
A number of sympathetic organizations have filed petitions against Proposition 8, bringing the total number of lawsuits at press time to six.
Each of the lawsuits argues that Proposition 8 changes established rights in the state constitution in such a way that the changes should be considered a “revision” to the constitution and not an “amendment.” Revisions need approval by two-thirds of the state legislature.
Three lawsuits — including suits from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Clara County; Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, the first gay couple married in Los Angeles; and the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights — were filed Nov. 5.
On Nov. 14, another lawsuit was filed by organizations that advocate for minority groups. The organizations include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense & Educational Fund, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Anurima Bhargava, director of the education practice at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, said her organization and others filed the lawsuit because they’re “all deeply concerned” about having “a recognized fundamental right be subject to bare majority rule.”
“That would be the case for the fundamental right to marry and many other fundamental rights that are recognized in the California state Constitution,” she said. “This should be of concern to all different types of groups that are in the minority, not only for sexual orientation, but also for race and gender as well.”
Two women’s groups — the Equal Rights Advocates and the California Women’s Law Center — jointly filed another petition against Proposition 8 on Monday. A petition also was filed Monday by several religious organizations, including the California Council of Churches.
The conservative Liberty Counsel on Monday also filed preliminary opposition to lawsuits against Proposition 8, saying the California high court should not consider petitions seeking to invalidate the amendment.
In a statement, Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, said, “the people of California have spoken by affirming traditional marriage” and “it is time to move on.”
SCHWARZENEGGER, OBAMA CHIDED
Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom criticized two top political figures this week for failing to take a more active role in the fight against Proposition 8.
Newsom, in an interview Wednesday, said President-elect Barack Obama (D) and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) did not provide enough help in the campaign against the measure.
“I think they would be the first to say that ‘no, we didn’t do much at all,’” he said.
But Newsom said Schwarzenegger deserves credit for coming out against Proposition 8 in April and Obama should be recognized for doing so in June.
“I don’t want to completely minimize their involvement,” Newsom said, “but were they advocates of opposition? No. Did they want to particularly talk about the issue of marriage equality? Absolutely not.”
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or
other inappropriate comments or material will be removed
from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned
or contain "signatures" by someone other than
the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take
steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards,terms
of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing
this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries
and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content
that you post.
