As reported in the Huffington Post, and other news media, on February 23 President Barack Obama announced that his administration will no longer legally defend the federal ban on gay marriage. This decision has opened the floodgates for gay-rights activists in California that want the current ban lifted.
On the same day as the announcement, a group whose mission is to overturn Prop 8, The American Foundation of Equal Rights, AFER, filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to end its current stay on the California ban.
Proposition 8 was a successful 2008 ballot initiative that prohibited gay marriage. The state-level ban was later declared unconstitutional but has remained in place during the appeals process.
There have been an unending number of appeals since a ninth Court Judge struck down Prop 8 last August. The Supreme Court of California has agreed to hear oral arguments – but not until next fall.
But the AFER equal right’s group has argued that further delay will only cause further damage to gay families.
The lead co-counsel for AFER, Theodore Olson, said, “You can't just say ‘Wait six months and then you'll get your constitutional rights’, continuing to separate them out as a different class is harmful every day.”
Obama said that he considers the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the Defense of Marriage Act, to be unconstitutional – and just a matter of a few hours later his words prompted the new filing.
In August both then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the current Governor Jerry Brown, also decided to not defend the ban in California.
Proponents of Prop. 8 have tried to appeal the ruling but may not have the legal authority to do so – and the federal appeals court has asked the state supreme court to first rule on if they can appeal.
This appeal process has the potential of lengthening the delay for a final ruling and members of AFER are becoming more and more impatient.
David Boies, of AFER, said of the group’s recent filing for expediation by the state supreme court, “It would be one thing to have a stay if the determination was going to come relatively shortly ... now it's going to take considerably longer to get this resolved, so we think it's appropriate to ask the Ninth Circuit Court" to end its order preventing gay marriage. I think the combination of what the California Supreme Court did by suggesting it might take up to a year to resolve the procedural questions and what the U.S. government did today might induce the Ninth Circuit Court to respond very quickly.”
Lawyers for AFER believe that no matter how long the process will take, Obama’s latest announcement will help their case in California.
If you have questions regarding the laws that govern marriage in your state, contact a family law attorney near you – they can offer you the assistance you need!