Constitutional Law

Calif. High Court To Hear Arguments Over Prop. 8 Legal

In early March, the California Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the anti-gay measure law that was enacted by Proposition 8. The Court announced it would hear arguments in the case on March 5. The Los Angeles Times reported that a decision will be issued within 90 days following those arguments. The Court will also consider whether Proposition 8, if upheld, invalidates the gay marriages that were performed in the state before its passage.

Civil liberties groups, such as the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), are urging the state’s high court to find the law an unlawful change to the state constitution. NCLR said that Proposition 8 is “invalid because the people of California have established strict safeguards that prohibit the underlying principles of the California Constitution from being changed by a simple majority vote. By taking away a right of only one group, Proposition 8 violates the most basic principle of our government: that all people are entitled to equal treatment under the law.”

NCLR is joined by Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Equality California and other civil liberties groups in challenging Proposition 8. Last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that lesbians and gay men have a constitutional right to marry, but the passage of Proposition 8 altered the state Constitution to specifically bar legal recognition of gay marriages. The California attorney general has also asked the Court to nullify Proposition 8, arguing that fundamental rights, like the right to marry, cannot be subverted by voters. Stephen Barnett, a UC Berkeley law professor, told the Los Angeles Times that he thought the arguments challenging Proposition 8 were “long shots.”

In a guest blog for ACS, Liz Seaton, director of projects and managing attorney for NCLR, explored the case against the constitutionality of Proposition 8. Seaton’s blog post is available here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 04, 2009 (boomark / email).