Prop. 8: California A.G. backs gay marriage in Supreme Court brief
California’s top law enforcement officer told the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday that Proposition 8’s ban on same-sex marriage should be overturned because its sole purpose was to “strip loving relationships of validation and dignity under the law,” according to an amicus brief.
In a friend of the court brief, Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris also argued that the proponents of Proposition 8 — California’s voter-approved measure limiting marriage to a man and a woman — did not have legal authority or “standing” to appeal a federal district court decision overturning the 2008 ballot measure.
After years of litigation in lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about the constitutionality of the ban next month. The court could decide whether the Constitution’s promise of equal treatment gives gays and lesbians a right to marry. But the justices also left themselves the option to rule narrowly or even to duck a decision.
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-- Maura Dolan and Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times