Burbank couple in Prop. 8 case to watch history unfold
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday began the process of considering two controversial cases involving whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry: Proposition 8, California’s 2008 ban on gay marriage, and the Defense of Marriage Act, which since 1996 has defined marriage for federal purposes as a union between a man and a woman.
Burbank residents Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo were catapulted onto the national stage when the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would rule on the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which the pair sued to overturn, along with a lesbian couple.
At the time, Zarillo told the Burbank Leader: “We’re excited, we’re anxious, we’re cautiously optimistic.”
The couple said they were confident that the high court would come down on the side of equal rights for all, noting they had history on their side.
“We hope that history has taught us one thing, that the courts are there to protect us,” Katami said.
Now, the couple, like the rest of the nation, waits for what could be an historic decision.
--Jason Wells, Times Community News
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