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State legislation

Press Release

A Statement from NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter on the California Supreme Court’s Prop 8 Ruling

(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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Civil Rights Groups Urge Court to Dismiss Challenge to Basic Student Protections

(Sacramento, CA, March 19, 2009)—Civil rights groups representing thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Californians filed a friend-of- the-court brief on Wednesday in support of Attorney General Jerry Brown’s request to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to invalidate SB 777, the Student Civil Rights Act. The amicus brief by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Lambda Legal, the Transgender Law Center, Equality California, and Gay Straight Alliance Network (GSA...

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Attorneys Urge California Supreme Court to Invalidate Prop. 8

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...

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California’s Unions Urge State Supreme Court to Overturn Prop 8

(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:...

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Religious and Civil Rights Groups, Legislators, Bar Associations, Labor, Businesses, and Legal Scholars Urge Court to Overturn Prop 8

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...

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Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Brief Urging California Supreme Court to Invalidate Proposition 8

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...

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Religious Leaders, Faith Organizations to Court: Invalidate Prop 8

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...

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Press Release

New Filing in Prop 8 Legal Challenge

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...

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Prominent California and National Women’s Rights Organizations Ask State Supreme Court to Say No to Prop. 8

Women’s Groups Warn Against Consequences of Putting Equality Up to a Public Vote (Los Angeles, CA, January 14, 2009)—Several leading local, state and national women’s rights organizations have submitted an amicus curiae—or friend of the court—brief to the California Supreme Court, asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because of its disastrous implications for women and other groups that face discrimination. The organizations joining the brief—filed in support of the petitioners in...

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Same-sex Couples Ask California Supreme Court to Strike Down Marriage Ban

California Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on March 4 (San Francisco, CA, March 4, 2008)—Attorneys for same-sex couples presented arguments to the California Supreme Court today in a historic lawsuit seeking to strike down a state law that bars lesbians and gay men from marriage. “During our 55 years together, we have witnessed enormous changes in California law concerning lesbian and gay people,” said Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who are petitioners in the case. “At one time, the law...

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