Archive for August 6, 2010

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker made it official by tossing out and doing away with the majority-rule ballot initiative.   Read More

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Proposition 8: Recent News

Proposition 8 ruling hailed by gay rights groups
Celebrations outside court, but opponents vow to appeal against ruling striking down California’s same-sex marriage banGay rights groups across America hailed a federal court decision striking down California’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, as supporters of the ban vowed to appeal.The celebrations began immediately outside the court in San Francisco after the US district court chief, Judge Vaughn Walker, handed gay rights advocates a critical victory at the end of a 13-day hearing. Shelly Bailes embraced her wife, Ellen Pontac, and held a sign reading: “Life Feels Different When You’re Married.”In New York, about 150 people gathered in front of a lower Manhattan courthouse. They carried signs saying “Our Love Wins” as organisers read out portions of the ruling.Walker made his politically charged decision in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the ban, approved by voters and known as Proposition 8, violated their civil rights.The ruling “vindicates the rights of a minority of our citizens to be treated with decency and respect and equality in our system,” said the former US solicitor general Theodore Olson, who delivered the closing argument.”The decision is not only a home run, it’s a grand slam,” Jon Davidson, legal director for Lamda Legal, a gay rights organisation, told the Los Angeles Daily News.Protect Marriage, the coalition of religious and conservative groups that sponsored the ban, said it would immediately appeal against the ruling.”In America, we should uphold and respect the right of people to make policy changes through the democratic process, especially changes that do nothing more than uphold the definition of marriage that has existed since the founding of this country and beyond,” said Jim Campbell, a defence lawyer.Lawyers on both sides expect the ruling to ultimately reach the supreme court in the next few years, and it is unclear whether California will conduct any same-sex weddings during that time. Walker stayed his ruling at least until tomorrow, when he will hold another hearing. Proposition 8 supporters argued to keep the ban in place pending the outcome of their appeal.In a 136-page ruling, Walker said the lawsuit challenging the ban “demonstrated by overwhelming evidence” that it violated due process amid equal-protection rights under the US constitution.”Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage licence,” he said. “Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples”.The debate has polarised America, dividing the public and the political establishment.

Proposition 8, California’s ban on gay marriage, overturned by judge
¢ US district court rules to lift Proposition 8 immediately¢ Victory for civil rights advocates following 13-day hearingA ban on same-sex marriages in California has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge, marking a major turning point in a controversial debate that has divided America.In a politically charged judgment, US District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker handed gay rights advocates a critical victory after a 13-day hearing.Crucially, he also ordered that the ban, approved by the voters and known as Proposition 8, should be lifted immediately, allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry while the case moves to a higher court for appeal.Proposition 8 supporters had argued to keep the ban in place pending the outcome of their appeal. In a 136-page ruling, Walker said the lawsuit challenging the ban “demonstrated by overwhelming evidence” that it violates due process amid equal-protection rights under the US constitution.”Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage licence,” he said. “Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples”.His ruling was greeted by cheers from some 70 same-sex marriage supporters outside the courthouse in San Francisco as they waved US flags and a large rainbow-striped flag ” the symbol of the gay rights movement.The debate has polarised America, dividing the public and the political establishment. Opponents, including many religious conservatives, see same-sex marriage as a threat to the “traditional family”.The ban was passed with 52% of the vote after the ballot was sponsored by the group Protect Marriage in what has been classed the most expensive political campaign on a social issue in US history.Meanwhile, civil libertarians have argued it is a battle for equal rights.The case will go to appeal to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, and thereafter, possibly to the Supreme Court. The lawsuit was filed by two gay couples who claimed the ban violated their civil rights.In all 18 witnesses gave evidence in the case, with academic experts testifying on topics ranging from the fitness of gay parents and religious views on homosexuality, to the historical meaning of marriage and the political influence of the gay rights movement.Former US Solicitor General Theodore Olson, delivering the closing argument for the opponents of the ban, said that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were not legally sufficient grounds on which to discriminate against gay couples.Meanwhile the defence lawyers called just two witnesses, arguing that they did not need to present expert testimony because US Supreme Court precedent was on their side. They argued that gay marriage was an experiment with unknown social consequences and should be left to the voters to decide to accept or reject it.Religious and conservative groups, who had sponsored the ban, said that cultures around the world, as well as previous court decisions and Congress all accepted “the common sense belief that children do best when they are raised by their own father and mother.

Proposition 8 Overturned: Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban Wednesday in a landmark case that could eventually land before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if gays have a constitutional right to marry in America. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker made his ruling in a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who claimed the voter-approved ban violated their civil rights. Gay couples waving rainbow and American flags outside the courthouse cheered, hugged and kissed as word of the ruling spread. Despite the favorable ruling for same-sex couples, gay marriage will not be allowed to resume. That’s because the judge said he wants to decide whether his order should be suspended while the proponents pursue their appeal in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

California’s Proposition 8 gay marriage ban thrown out by court
Judge rules that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marriage, overturning California’s controversial Proposition 8Declaring that “same-sex love and intimacy are well-documented in human history,” a judge has overturned California’s ban on homosexual marriage as unconstitutional ” in a sweeping victory for gay and lesbian civil rights.US district judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the ban on gay and lesbian marriage imposed by the Proposition 8 referendum in 2008 ” when it was backed by 52% of California’s voters ” violated the right to equal protection under the US Constitution.”This is a victory for the American people. It’s a victory for our justice system,” said Theodore Olson, the former US Solicitor General who made the closing arguments at the trial opposing Proposition 8.Supporters erupted in celebration outside the court in San Francisco where the case was heard, as the news of the ruling filtered out. But little will change immediately. The decision sets off a round of appeals that will see the issue ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court.Even before the ruling was announced, supporters of the marriage ban had asked for the decision to be put on hold pending an appeal to the next level, the US ninth circuit court of appeals. Judge Walker’s ruling in the case of Perry versus Schwarzenegger witheringly dismissed the arguments put forward by supporters of Proposition 8, saying they failed “to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.”Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.”In his 136-page-long decision, Walker wrote: “The state does not have an interest in enforcing private moral or religious beliefs without an accompanying secular purpose.”In contrast, Walker’s ruling said the opponents of Proposition 8 had “demonstrated by overwhelming evidence” that the ban violated their constitutional rights.Legal experts said that the scope of Judge Walker’s ruling was crucial to its chances of being upheld by the appeals court and the Supreme Court. His ruling was that Proposition 8 violated both the US Constitution’s equal protection clause, based on sex or sexual orientation, and its due process clause as a restriction on the fundamental right of marriage.Gay marriage had been legalised in California in May 2008, after a decision by the state’s supreme court.

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