State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is the most recent political entrant in the crusade against Proposition 8, the ballot measure that has prevented marriage between same-sex couples in California since November 2008.
This month, Harris issued a statement backing the work of attorneys supporting same-sex marriage, Theodore Olson and David Boies, who are requesting to have the ban lifted immediately.
Harris’ statement resonates with a shift in policy at the federal level. The U.S. Attorney General announced last month that President Obama’s administration intends to stop defending in court the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law forbidding the legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Gov. Jerry Brown has also weighed in against Proposition 8.
When Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled in August of 2010 that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, the backers of the proposition appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and a panel of three judges. The panel asked for the California Supreme Court’s guidance to determine if Proposition 8 proponents, a collective of organizations and individuals — Protectmarriage.com, Yes on 8 and Hak-Shing William Tam — actually had the standing or legal right to appeal the case, particularly in light of the constitutionality question.
Last December, the state Supreme Court affirmed the standing of the proponents to appeal Walker’s ruling, which overturned Proposition 8 and would legalize same-sex marriage in California for a second time, if the federal District Court ruling stands as written.
Since then, Imperial County in California — led by its current county clerk, Chuck Storey — which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals previously dismissed as an appellant, has reenteredthe case. Previously, deputy county clerk Isabel Vargas filed the original Imperial County appeal without a directive from the county clerk she served under at the time.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to announce its decision on whether to lift the stay on the same-sex marriage ban until the end of the appeals process.
Lifting the stay would bring same-sex couples back to San Francisco’s City Hall much sooner to legalize their marriage vows. But the process is expected to continue for a year or longer, even with expedited scheduling.
