More than four years after California voters approved Proposition 8, the state’s ban on same-sex marriage received a full hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s been a long and winding road to the high court – a road paved with joy, anger, euphoria and fear.
KQED and the California Report are providing full coverage of the Proposition 8 and DOMA hearings.
Four days before the U.S. Supreme Court met to ostensibly discuss California's Proposition 8, a Nevada District Court issued a ruling upholding that state's ban on same-sex marriage. The ruling by Judge Robert C. Jones, a George W. Bush appointee, holds that Nevada's law does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment.
That decision is at odds with Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision that struck down Prop. 8 as a violation of both the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. Judge Walker also found that marriage is a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Lambda Legal, which represented the 16 plaintiffs in Nevada, will appeal Judge Jones' decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Same-sex marriage was not on the U.S. Supreme Court's list of orders when it was released at about 9:30 a.m. That means we'll have to wait until Friday to find out if the high court will review the case concerning Prop 8, California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
An appeals court previously upheld a lower court's ruling that invalidated Proposition 8. That is one of two laws involving same-sex marriage that the high court may review next spring. The court is also weighing overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, a federal law that defines marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman for the purposes of legal recognition and receipt of benefits, such as the ability to file a joint tax return.
The Supreme Court will announce whether or not it will review the cases in a list of orders. "The vast majority of cases filed in the Supreme Court are disposed of summarily by unsigned orders," the Supreme Court website states. "Such an order will, for example, deny a petition… without comment. Regularly scheduled lists of orders are issued on each Monday that the Court sits, but 'miscellaneous' orders may be issued in individual cases at any time."
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to review two sets of decisions by lower courts involving same-sex marriage. Despite widespread anticipation, the court did not announce today whether or not it would hear the cases, so everyone will have … Continue reading
(AP) Three weeks after voters backed same-sex marriage in three states and defeated a ban in a fourth, the justices met Friday to discuss whether they should deal sooner rather than later with the claim that the Constitution gives people … Continue reading
The next and final chapter in the legal saga of Proposition 8, California’s ban on same sex marriage, is set to begin Friday morning at the U.S. Supreme Court. And unlike the previous legal skirmishes in which this measure has … Continue reading
By Scott Shafer The U.S. Supreme Court could decide by September 25 whether it will review this year's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down California's Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage. On that day, the justices will … Continue reading
It's been more than a year since Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who grew up in Santa Cruz, expressed his support for gay marriage in a video posted on YouTube. Since then the video has garnered more than 27,000 views; certainly … Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Backers of California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a federal appeals court that struck down the measure as unconstitutional. Lawyers for the coalition of religious conservative groups that … Continue reading
by Laird Harrison and Scott Shafer He waffled. He backtracked. And on Friday David Blankenhorn, a leading opponent of gay marriage, announced in the New York Times that he is giving in. In his 2007 book "The Future of Marriage," … Continue reading
The other day we posted Rachael Myrow's interview with UC Davis law professor Vik Amar about the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court would take up the Proposition 8 case now that the high court is the last available avenue … Continue reading
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Jon Brooks is News Fix’s editor, host, chief blogger and Bay Area newshound, searching for what’s news in the region.
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