Aug 15, 2013
The court order follows the federal Supreme Court's June 26 decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry to defer to rule on a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the initiative defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman, saying those who proposed the ban had no legal standing to do so.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports:
The first weddings took place June 28, after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered all 58 county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But because the nation's high court did not rule on Prop. 8's constitutionality, sponsors of the 2008 measure urged the California court to step in and declare that only the two same-sex couples who sued to overturn the law should be allowed to marry.
State officials replied that the federal court ruling was binding statewide, and the state's high court went along - in a July 15 order refusing to halt the weddings, and in Wednesday's final order dismissing the case.
"Gay and lesbian couples will continue to marry throughout California, and families will continue to be strengthened. Prop. 8 is gone for good," declared Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights--which represented the four now-married plaintiffs in the Supreme Court trial, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo.
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
The court order follows the federal Supreme Court's June 26 decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry to defer to rule on a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the initiative defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman, saying those who proposed the ban had no legal standing to do so.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports:
The first weddings took place June 28, after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered all 58 county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But because the nation's high court did not rule on Prop. 8's constitutionality, sponsors of the 2008 measure urged the California court to step in and declare that only the two same-sex couples who sued to overturn the law should be allowed to marry.
State officials replied that the federal court ruling was binding statewide, and the state's high court went along - in a July 15 order refusing to halt the weddings, and in Wednesday's final order dismissing the case.
"Gay and lesbian couples will continue to marry throughout California, and families will continue to be strengthened. Prop. 8 is gone for good," declared Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights--which represented the four now-married plaintiffs in the Supreme Court trial, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo.
_____________________
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
The court order follows the federal Supreme Court's June 26 decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry to defer to rule on a challenge to California's Proposition 8, the initiative defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman, saying those who proposed the ban had no legal standing to do so.
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports:
The first weddings took place June 28, after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered all 58 county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But because the nation's high court did not rule on Prop. 8's constitutionality, sponsors of the 2008 measure urged the California court to step in and declare that only the two same-sex couples who sued to overturn the law should be allowed to marry.
State officials replied that the federal court ruling was binding statewide, and the state's high court went along - in a July 15 order refusing to halt the weddings, and in Wednesday's final order dismissing the case.
"Gay and lesbian couples will continue to marry throughout California, and families will continue to be strengthened. Prop. 8 is gone for good," declared Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights--which represented the four now-married plaintiffs in the Supreme Court trial, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo.
_____________________
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