Prop. 8 on Trial
Update
On August 4, 2010, Judge Vaughan Walker of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Later, he denied the motion to stay his decision, paving the way for same-sex couples to marry starting on Wednesday, August 18 at 5 p.m.
About the Federal Court Challenge to Prop. 8
Prop. 8 was devastating for same-sex couples and their families, putting children at risk, devaluing relationships and setting LGBT people apart for special discrimination. Anti-gay extremists targeted a minority group, stripped away a precious freedom and relegated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to second-class status with a divisive agenda built on fear mongering and a blatant disregard for the truth.
Perry v. Schwarzenegger is a federal court case challenging the validity of Prop. 8. Unlike the California State Supreme Court challenge, the petitioners are challenging the merits of Prop. 8 under federal law. Equality California filed a friend-of the-court brief outlining our position.
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Prop. 8 violates the U.S. Consitution's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The case will now be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Videos
Background
Blog posts on The California Ripple Effect
Expert commentary from Shannon Minter
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Press Releases
Coverage of Trial
History
On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court upheld that denying same-sex couples the fundamental freedom to marry violates the California Constitution’s equal protection clause. EQCA was one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case. Read more>
Same-sex couples began to legally wed in California on June 16, 2008. Between June 16 and November 4, 2008, approximately 18,000 same-sex couples were married in California. Those marriages continue to be valid.
Prop. 8 passed by a slim majority, eliminating the right of other same-sex couples to marry. EQCA raised over $14 million for the campaign against Prop. 8 — $11 million more than any other organization.
Both the California Senate and Assembly passed resolutions sponsored by EQCA opposing Prop. 8 as an illegal and unprecedented revision to the state Constitution.
The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Prop. 8 legal challenge, filed on behalf of EQCA and same-sex couples, but on May 26, 2009, the Court ruled that Prop. 8 was valid. However, they upheld the marriages of those same-sex couples who wed before Prop. 8's passage. Read more>
It was in anticipation of this ruling that Perry v. Schwarzenegger was filed in May 2009. Theodore Olson and David Boies, the head lawyers in the case argue that the State of California is in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees every American basic fundamental rights, including the right to equal protection under the law. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has refused to defend Prop. 8 in the case named after him and Attorney General Jerry Brown has filed a brief against it. Read more>
On January 1, 2010, new EQCA-sponsored legislation went into effect clarifying that same-sex couples married anywhere in the world before Prop. 8 would be legally married in California, and that couples married after Prop. 8 passed would have all the rights of marriage.
More information about marriage for same-sex couples in California >
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