Same Fight, Different Approach

“When you
boil it down, his argument also focused on the other concern
that the petitioners have, which is using the amendment
process to deny a fundamental right to a particular
group,” says Shannon Minter, legal director of
the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which along with the
American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal, and a private
law firm, is representing Equality California in
its suit. “All the arguments focus on the
shocking thing that Prop. 8 does, which is take away a
fundamental right from a particular group.”

Although the
supreme court could hear oral arguments in the case as early
as March, no date is guaranteed. In fact, the only sure
thing about this latest chapter of Prop. 8 seems to be
the infinite capacity for uncertainty.

“It’s impossible to say how the supreme court
is going to look at this,” says Uelmen.
“There are seven justices on the court, and each
looks at the constitution through a different
prism.”