(San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009)—Today, in a 6 to 1 decision, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the ballot measure that eliminated the right of same sex couples to marry. At the same time, the court unanimously ruled that the more than 18,000 marriages that took place between June 16 and November 4, 2008 continue to be fully valid and recognized by the state of California. The decision reaffirmed the Court’s prior holding that sexual orientation is subject to the highest...
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Prop 8
(San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009)—Today, following the ruling of the California Supreme Court in Strauss v. Horton, the LGBTQ community’s challenge to Proposition 8 brought by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the ACLU, lead petitioners Karen Strauss and Ruth Borenstein released the following statement: Karen Strauss: “I would give anything to be in different circumstances that would allow me to be with you today. Instead, I am at my mother’s bedside in Florida. Her poor...
On May 22, 2009, two same-sex couples filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging California’s Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to prohibit marriage by same-sex couples. California’s Governor and Attorney General agreed with the plaintiffs that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional. Judge Vaughn Walker permitted Proposition 8’s supporters to intervene as defendants, and also permitted the City and County of...
Attorney General, Governor, and nation’s top civil rights groups agree: Invalidate Prop 8 (San Francisco, CA, February 3, 2009)—The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU—with support from civil rights groups, religious organizations, labor unions, and legal scholars—argue that Proposition 8 is invalid because the people of...
Nation’s top civil rights groups and legal scholars agree: Invalidate Prop 8 (San Francisco, CA, January 21, 2009)—In the last round of an expedited briefing schedule, final briefs were filed today by both petitioners and respondents in the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. The briefs filed today by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU responded to the more than 60 amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs filed in the case last week. Those amicus briefs...
(Oakland, CA, January 13, 2009)—A coalition of more than 50 California labor organizations, including United Healthcare Workers (UHW) and the California Labor Federation, will file an amicus brief on Friday in support of the three lawsuits now challenging Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that added a same-sex marriage ban to the California state constitution. The labor organizations represent more than two million working men and women in California. A message from Shannon Minter:...
Brief filed in response to Court’s invitation after it deferred action on Nov. petition (Los Angeles, CA, January 15, 2009)—Civil rights groups today filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for fundamental revisions to the California Constitution. In the amicus brief, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and...
Nation’s top civil rights groups and legal scholars agree: Invalidate Prop 8 (San Francisco, CA, January 21, 2009)—In the last round of an expedited briefing schedule, final briefs were filed today by both petitioners and respondents in the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8. The briefs filed today by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU responded to the more than 60 amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” briefs filed in the case last week. Those amicus briefs...
Religious Leaders, Faith Organizations to Court: Invalidate Prop 8 (Sacramento, CA, January 14, 2009)—Today, the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations representing millions of members filed an amicus curiae brief with the California Supreme Court urging the Court to invalidate Proposition 8. The brief argues that Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection for all and was not enacted through the constitutionally required...
Reply brief reiterates that Prop 8 should be struck down (San Francisco, CA, January 5, 2008)—Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Lambda Legal filed a reply brief in the California Supreme Court, the next step in the lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 8, which passed by a mere 52 percent on November 4. The brief argues that Proposition 8 is invalid because it seeks to eliminate a fundamental right only for a targeted...