Oral Arguements Today in Perry v Schwarzenegger

A panel of the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger today as the battle to overturn the Mormon/Catholic backed Proposition 8 continues. Those attempting to read the tea leaves based on the Judges assigned to the case speculate a 2:1 vote to uphold the lower court decision striking down Prop. 8 as unconstitutional under the U. S. Constitution. If there is indeed separation of church and state in the USA and equality means what the word stands for, the unconstitutionally of Prop. 8 should be upheld. One can only hope that the anti-gay discrimination which is the sole purpose of Prop. 8 will be recognized by the panel. Here are highlights from The Advocate on the scheduled oral arguments:
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Arguments before the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit will begin Monday at 10 a.m. pacific time. Unlike the trial in the case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger,the appeal proceedings will be nationally televised (Advocate.com will carry a live feed via NBC).
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During the arguments, a three-judge panel will consider two main questions before the court: whether a federal judge erred in ruling the anti-gay marriage initiative unconstitutional, and whether a coalition of Prop. 8 supporters who defended the ballot measure at trial have standing to appeal the case.
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Representing two California gay couples who sued the state after they were denied marriage licenses, former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson will argue that U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker was correct in striking down Prop. 8 in August.
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"The tragic time has long passed when our government could target our gay and lesbian citizens for discriminatory, disfavored treatment — even imprisonment — because those in power deemed gay relationships deviant, immoral, or distasteful," Olson wrote in an October brief to the court, one that drew upon landmark gay rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the high court's decision in the 1967 case Loving v. Virginia,which struck down laws banning interracial marriage.
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Last week Prop. 8 proponents attempted to disqualify ninth circuit judge Stephen Reinhardt from the panel because he is married to a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Southern California office. Reinhardt rejected the request.