Victory for Prop. 8 backers : SCOTUSblog.
From the LA Times:
The California Supreme Court decided Thursday that the sponsors of Proposition 8 and other ballot measures are entitled to defend them in court when the state refuses to do so, a ruling likely to spur federal courts to decide the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans.
The state high court’s decision, a defeat for gay rights groups, sets the stage for a federal ruling -- which could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court -- that would affect marriage bans outside California.
Background from the NYT:
Some gay rights groups were disappointed today when the California Supreme Court ruled that the sponsors of Proposition 8, ProtectMarriage, have standing to defend the discriminatory law, even though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown had refused to do so.
Previously, Judge Vaughn Walker, who ruled the ban against same-sex unions unconstitutional in federal court, had said that ProtectMarriage could not appeal his decision to the Ninth Circuit, because they were never able to prove that gay marriage harmed them in any way.
That, of course is one of the many huge flaws in the argument against marriage equality.
But, as we wrote in an editorial on December 10, 2010, denying standing to the anti-marriage crowd would effectively nullify the referendum, confounding the initiative process and the voters’ right to have their choices defended. That’s probably not the best way to secure equality for a minority group.
