Same-sex couples in California will have to wait a while to find out if they have regained the right to get married, after the backers of the state’s gay marriage ban petitioned a federal appeals court to review a split decision by three of its judges that struck down Proposition 8.
Lawyers for a coalition of religious and legal groups on Tuesday asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the 2-1 decision that declared the voter-approved ban to be a violation of the federal civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians, opting for now to avoid taking their chances with the U.S. Supreme Court.
“After careful consideration, we determined that asking for reconsideration by the full Ninth Circuit is in the best interests of defending Prop. 8,” said Andy Pugno, general counsel for the Protect Marriage coalition. “This gives the entire 9th Circuit a chance to correct this anomalous decision by just two judges overturning the vote of seven million Californians.”
Read more at Official Wire. By Lisa Leff, AP.
Please share this post with your friends and comment below. If you haven’t already, take a moment to sign up for our free newsletter above and friend us on Twitter and Facebook to get real time updates.
Follow @WestJournalism
Loading ...
That’s good news indeed. I thought from the beginning that it was best to call for a hearing and vote from the full membership of the Ninth Circus Court rather than leaving it to two liberal drones in black robes to overturn the will of 7 million Californians. Given the absurd language of their ruling accusing the voters of hate marks the two judges as incompetent boobs. Nowhere in their ruling was there even the slightest hint of constitutional judgement wherein the constitutionality of Prop 8 was determined vis-a-vis the Constitution of the United States. Instead it appeared these two judges decided the matter based on their personal views alone. That’s not judging, that’s imposing their personal will. It reinforces the notion that federal judges should not be appointed for a lifetime rather they should be held accountable for their performance same as any other politician which is obviously what they want to be and have become.