Posted on 02/07/2012 8:36:09 PM PST by sreastman
Defenders of Marriage will Appeal Latest Decision Against Proposition 8
Alliance Defense Fund
Defenders of marriage in California will appeal Tuesday’s ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that upheld a district judge’s decision against the state’s constitutional amendment protecting marriage. The ProtectMarriage.com legal defense team, including Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, expressed no surprise that the lawsuit over the amendment, which protects marriage as the union of one man and one woman, would progress beyond the three-judge 9th Circuit panel as has been long predicted by parties on both sides.
ProtectMarriage.com is the banner organization for the official proponents and campaign committee of Proposition 8, which seven million California voters approved in November 2008. In its decision, the 9th Circuit affirmed the right of the official Proposition 8 proponents to continue to defend the amendment on appeal.
“No court should presume to redefine marriage. No court should undercut the democratic process by taking the power to preserve marriage out of the hands of the people,” said ADF Senior Counsel Brian Raum. “Americans overwhelmingly reject the idea of changing the definition of marriage. Sixty-three million Americans in 31 state elections have voted on marriage, and 63 percent voted to preserve marriage as the timeless, universal, unique union between husband and wife.”
“We are not surprised that this Hollywood-orchestrated attack on marriage--tried in San Francisco--turned out this way. But we are confident that the expressed will of the American people in favor of marriage will be upheld at the Supreme Court,” Raum added. “Every pro-marriage American should be pleased that this case can finally go to the full 9th Circuit or the US Supreme Court. The ProtectMarriage.com legal team’s arguments align with every other federal appellate and Supreme Court decision on marriage in American history.”
Two of the three 9th Circuit judges concluded in Perry v. Brown that California’s marriage amendment--Article I, Section 7.5 of the state constitution--is unconstitutional in part because the court believed claims that voters sought to “target a minority group.”
“The argument that marriage as the union of a man and a woman is so irrational that it is inexplicable on any grounds other than animosity and antipathy is baseless,” explained lead counsel Charles J. Cooper with the Cooper & Kirk law firm. “Those pushing this argument condemn as bigoted not only a majority of Californians, but also an overwhelming majority of Americans from all walks of life, political parties, races, and creeds. The point was made best by New York’s high court: ‘The idea that same-sex marriage is even possible is a relatively new one. Until a few decades ago, it was an accepted truth for almost everyone who ever lived, in any society in which marriage existed, that there could be marriages only between participants of different sex. A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted. We do not so conclude.’”
A stay that prevents marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples in California is still in effect. In addition to ruling on the amendment, the 9th Circuit panel also denied a ProtectMarriage.com motion to have the district court ruling thrown out on the grounds that then District Judge Vaughn Walker should have recused himself.
© 2012 Alliance Defense Fun
I hope the proponents of Prop 8 continue to fight.
I know Brown has asked the AG of CA to prepare an appeal.
As Rush said ... why bother voting if someone in a black robe can override it. (paraphrasing of course.)
The legal reasoning is so bizarre.
They are saying that voters in Calif. violated federal law by defining marriage as 1 man and 1 woman.
Yet federal law itself defines marriage as 1 man and 1 woman.
This court did not deal with the federal Defense of Marriage Act at all.
Does anyone else see a legal mess with this? The state of California has violated federal law by defining marriage in the same way as does federal law. Are we in Orwell’s 1984? Are liberal judges in Orwell’s 1984??????
And how can the court say it’s discriminatory to define marriage, under federal law, without overturning the Defense of Marriage Act?
And, does anyone else see a legal Orwellian mess, in that, the California Supreme Court, the same court which ruled for homosexual marriage in the first place, upheld Proposition 8 under state law? When the gay activists lost that in state court, they decided to go judge shopping to federal court. And here we are today with this decision.
Liberals love Democracy! and Voting Rights For Minorities! unless they vote the wrong way, in which case they will disenfranchise them in a millisecond.
Very good job tying the all the insanity together.
placemark
It’s not just an attack on marriage. It is an attack on liberty, the right of the people to determine their own government, and fundamentally an attack on civilization itself.
Liberalism is a dangerous, destructive disease. It harms everything it touches, but with the best intentions.
I see a huge problem, the court cited the 14th amendment and I have read it over and over again and there is no way the 14th applies here .
First homosexuals can marry , they can marry the opposite sex.
Secondly they are not being put into another class or having right taken away from them as they have the same right as everyone else, they can marry just like us.
Thirdly even if you go with the courts decision then the law must apply and the decision must apply to all sorts of marriages, so if Muslims want 4 wives or Mormons wants 9 wives then they can according to their ruling.
Using the 14th was the biggest cop out ever and this was pure out and out judicial activism and I don’t hear the GOP or Romney shouting about this or doing something about it.
On top of this it is not a constitutional right to marry.
This is the same court which stated the voters were wrong in the 90’s with their vote and that they needed a constitutional amendment .
The homosexuals knew this and so spent millions upon millions having the constitution changed and now the results came in the the left lost and the people define marriage the very SAME COURT, the very same HOMOSEXUALS which spent millions and told the people they need a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT now say it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
This has to be the biggest slap on the constitution and on the people I have seen besides Govt health care
ping
hope you are well and staying warm up there.
Don't just hope. We can help them, both with our financial and moral support.
http://www.protectmarriage.com/
From what I’ve heard, they are petitioning directly to the USSC. They want this moved quickly.
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