Legal News

Arguments filed by Prop 8 supporters in appeals bid

By Richard Binder

Proposition 8 sponsor ProtectMarriage.com filed written arguments in the 9th Circuit last week, urging the appeals court to overturn Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling against the 2008 ballot measure banning same-sex marriage.

The group cited a 1972 Supreme Court precedent in which a gay couple from Minnesota sought the right to marry and were rebuffed not only by the state's highest court but the nation's as well. In that case the Supreme Court refused to hear the couple's appeal.  ProtectMarriage.com says Walker "quite willfully" disregarded that case. The group also characterized Walker's conclusion that "moral disapproval" of gay men and lesbians was the main force driving approval of Prop 8 as defamatory.

Imperial County, whose residents voted overwhelmingly for the measure, maintain that they have grounds for appeal because counties issue marriage licenses. The county filed arguments shortly before midnight on Friday.

Should the 9th Circuit refuse to overturn, then Walker's decision should only apply to the specific couples in the suit, ProtectMarriage.com said, since it was not filed as a class action on behalf of all gays and lesbians.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on September 21, 2010 (boomark / email).