The California
supreme court will begin to hear oral arguments on March 5
that will decide the fate of Proposition 8, the ballot
initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the
state.
The legal
challenge is brought by groups like the National Center for
Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the American Civil
Liberties Union, who are arguing that Prop. 8 is
invalid because the people of California have
established safeguards that prohibit the underlying
principles of the California constitution from being changed
by a simple majority vote (Prop. 8 passed with just
52% of the vote). By taking away a right from one
group, the lawsuit argues, Prop. 8 violates the most
basic principle of our government: that all people are
entitled to equal treatment under the law.
California
attorney general Jerry Brown -- who has voiced interest in
running for governor of the Golden State -- is also
asking the court to invalidate Prop. 8 on the grounds
that certain fundamental rights, including the
right to marry, are inalienable and cannot be put up
for a vote.
On January 15, 43
friend-of-the-court briefs -- from bar associations,
religious groups, and legal scholars -- urging the
court to invalidate Prop. 8 were filed, arguing that
Prop. 8 drastically alters the equal-protection
guarantee in California's constitution and that the
rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple
majority vote.
In May 2008 the
California supreme court held that laws that treat people
differently based on their sexual orientation violate the
equal-protection clause of the California constitution and
that same-sex couples have the same fundamental right
to marry as other Californians. Prop. 8 eliminated
this fundamental right only for same-sex couples. No
other initiative has ever successfully changed the
California constitution to take away a right only from
a targeted minority group.
The National
Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU filed
this challenge on November 5, representing Equality
California, whose members include many same-sex
couples who married between June 16 and November 4,
2008, and six same-sex couples who want to marry in
California. The California supreme court has also agreed to
hear two other challenges filed on the same day: one
filed by the City and County of San Francisco (joined
by Santa Clara County and the City of Los Angeles, and
subsequently by Los Angeles County and other local
governments); and another filed by a private attorney.
The California
supreme court must issue its decisions within 90 days of
oral arguments. (Neal Broverman, Advocate.com)