California Supreme Court to Hear Prop. 8 Arguments

The California Supreme Court has announced that it will hear oral arguments on the challenge to the validity of the passage of Proposition 8 on March 5, 2009. Amazingly, forty-three (43) groups representing civil rights activists, legal scholars, labor unions, bar associations, state legislators and religious organizations have filed written arguments asking that Proposition 8 be overturned. In opposition are twenty briefs filed by a who's who of the loony bin far right, including many of the "professional Christian" organizations which use the opposition of gay rights as a major money raising tool. Personally, I cannot imagine making a living by constantly maligning and trying to stigmatize others - not exactly very Christian in my view. A full listing of the briefs filed by both sides can be found here. The Los Angeles Times provides more details and highlights are as follows:

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Reporting from San Francisco -- The California Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would hear arguments March 5 over the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that reinstated a ban on same-sex marriage. The court's decision in the case will come within 90 days of the three-hour hearing, which will be held in San Francisco and broadcast live on the California Channel. In addition to hearing challenges to Proposition 8, the court will consider the fate of 18,000 same-sex marriages that occurred before the November election.

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Gay rights lawyers and the city of San Francisco contend that the ballot measure was an illegal revision of the state Constitution. It is a novel argument that required the attorneys to try to distinguish Proposition 8 from other cases in which the court rejected revision challenges.California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown also asked the court to overturn the proposition, but on other grounds. He argued that "inalienable rights" cannot be eliminated without compelling reasons, an argument that, if accepted by the court, would make major new law in California.

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Even if Proposition 8 is upheld, the court could rule that existing same-sex marriages remain valid. Legal scholars say gay rights lawyers have more ammunition for preserving the marriages than for overturning the ban.