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Schwarzenegger calls for same-sex weddings
Source: Agencies |
August 7, 2010, Saturday
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LAWYERS for gay couples, Gov. Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed legal motions yesterday telling a federal judge that allowing same-sex marriages to resume immediately in California was the right thing to do.
The motions came two days after US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's voter-approved gay marriage ban as unconstitutional.
In his 136-page decision, Walker said gay marriages should begin immediately. But later Wednesday, he agreed to suspend weddings until he could consider the legal arguments he ordered to be filed by yesterday.
Opponents of same-sex marriage said they want Proposition 8 to stay in effect until their appeal of Walker's ruling is decided by higher courts.
They argued in court papers filed earlier this week that resuming gay marriage now would cause legal chaos if the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or US Supreme Court eventually reverse Walker's ruling.
The 9th Circuit received the case on Wednesday, hours after Walker issued his decision.
Yesterday, Schwarzenegger and Brown were the first to weigh in on the issue and both urged an immediate resumption of gay marriage. The legal team of David Boies and Ted Olson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of two gay couples that led to Walker's ruling, also submitted a motion in conjunction with the city of San Francisco, another plaintiff.
They all argued that since the judge ruled that California's marriage ban was illegal, gay couples should be able to marry now.
Boies and Olson said gay couples "will continue to suffer irreparable harm if Proposition 8's irrational deprivation of their constitutional rights is prolonged."
It was unclear when the judge would issue a ruling on the possible resumption of same-sex marriages.
Even if he does clear the way for same-sex couples to wed, lawyers for sponsors of Proposition 8 plan to ask the federal appeals court for an emergency order to prevent that from happening.
The governor and attorney general almost always defend state laws when they are challenged. But in this case, both refused to participate in fighting the lawsuit aimed at overturning the ban.
Brown is the Democratic nominee for governor on the November ballot and he previously called the ban unconstitutional.
Schwarzenegger has been more circumspect on his Proposition 8 position and his motion to immediately resume gay marriage was his boldest pronouncement on the issue.
"The administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California," lawyers for Schwarzenegger said in the legal filing. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."
Brown also said it's time for gays to begin marrying again.
"While there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by this court's conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," Brown said in his legal filing.
The outcome in the appeals court could force the US Supreme Court to confront the question of whether gays have a constitutional right to wed.
Currently, same-sex couples can legally wed only in Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.
California voters passed Proposition 8 five months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions and an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples already had tied the knot.
Walker presided over a 13-day trial earlier this year that was the first in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality.
Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.
Opponents said that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.
The motions came two days after US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker struck down California's voter-approved gay marriage ban as unconstitutional.
In his 136-page decision, Walker said gay marriages should begin immediately. But later Wednesday, he agreed to suspend weddings until he could consider the legal arguments he ordered to be filed by yesterday.
Opponents of same-sex marriage said they want Proposition 8 to stay in effect until their appeal of Walker's ruling is decided by higher courts.
They argued in court papers filed earlier this week that resuming gay marriage now would cause legal chaos if the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or US Supreme Court eventually reverse Walker's ruling.
The 9th Circuit received the case on Wednesday, hours after Walker issued his decision.
Yesterday, Schwarzenegger and Brown were the first to weigh in on the issue and both urged an immediate resumption of gay marriage. The legal team of David Boies and Ted Olson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of two gay couples that led to Walker's ruling, also submitted a motion in conjunction with the city of San Francisco, another plaintiff.
They all argued that since the judge ruled that California's marriage ban was illegal, gay couples should be able to marry now.
Boies and Olson said gay couples "will continue to suffer irreparable harm if Proposition 8's irrational deprivation of their constitutional rights is prolonged."
It was unclear when the judge would issue a ruling on the possible resumption of same-sex marriages.
Even if he does clear the way for same-sex couples to wed, lawyers for sponsors of Proposition 8 plan to ask the federal appeals court for an emergency order to prevent that from happening.
The governor and attorney general almost always defend state laws when they are challenged. But in this case, both refused to participate in fighting the lawsuit aimed at overturning the ban.
Brown is the Democratic nominee for governor on the November ballot and he previously called the ban unconstitutional.
Schwarzenegger has been more circumspect on his Proposition 8 position and his motion to immediately resume gay marriage was his boldest pronouncement on the issue.
"The administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California," lawyers for Schwarzenegger said in the legal filing. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."
Brown also said it's time for gays to begin marrying again.
"While there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by this court's conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," Brown said in his legal filing.
The outcome in the appeals court could force the US Supreme Court to confront the question of whether gays have a constitutional right to wed.
Currently, same-sex couples can legally wed only in Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C.
California voters passed Proposition 8 five months after the state Supreme Court legalized same-sex unions and an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples already had tied the knot.
Walker presided over a 13-day trial earlier this year that was the first in federal court to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality.
Supporters argued the ban was necessary to safeguard the traditional understanding of marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing.
Opponents said that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.
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