Conservative Republican Ted Olson defends right to marry in California
The historic Proposition 8 trial in California is nearing the final stages as lawyers on both sides of the same-sex marriage argument set out their views on the evidence presented throughout the course of the trial lasting much of January. Conservative republican and former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson is representing a same-sex couple in California challenging the passage of Proposition 8. Lawyers on both sides have one more shot at arguing their case before Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in closing arguments before a decision is rendered.
Based upon the ruling issued by Judge Walker, the wording of his decision could have minimal implications for California residents or more far-reaching implications for civil rights at all levels of government:
Prop. 8, approved by 52 percent of the voters in November 2008, amended the California Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, overturning a May 2008 state Supreme Court ruling that extended marital rights to gays and lesbians. The state court upheld the initiative last May while also upholding 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in the state before Prop. 8 passed.
Because Prop. 8 eliminated rights that the California court had granted, plaintiffs in the federal suit want Walker to put it in the same category as a 1992 Colorado initiative that overturned local gay-rights laws and prohibited future anti-discrimination measures. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Colorado initiative in 1996 and said its sole purpose was to harm a disfavored minority.
Prop. 8’s “express and stated purpose … was to strip gay and lesbian individuals of constitutional rights” they had won in the state court, plaintiffs’ lawyers said. They said Yes on 8 campaign messages “echoed fears that children must be ‘protected’ from gay and lesbian people.”
Walker, sensing the challenge ultimately may be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, held a full-blown trial to give each side the opportunity to provide a factual basis for their arguments for and against same-sex marriage.
The trial briefs in many respects reflect the fact the trial was primarily focused on testimony from the plaintiffs’ side, with experts who testified on everything from the history of discrimination against gay people to the scope of gay and lesbian political clout.
The plaintiffs also presented more emotional testimony, including from the two couples themselves and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican who testified on his political change of heart after learning his daughter is lesbian.
Read more in the San Jose Mercury News
for and against same-sex marriage.The trial briefs in many respects reflect the fact the trial was primarily focused on testimony from the plaintiffs’ side, with experts who testified on everything from the history of discrimination against gay people to the scope of gay and lesbian political clout.
The plaintiffs also presented more emotional testimony, including from the two couples themselves and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican who testified on his political change of heart after learning his daughter is lesbian.
“Prop. 8, in effect, communicates the official view that same-sex couples’ committed relationships are of a lesser stature than the comparable relationships of opposite-sex couples,” plaintiffs lawyers wrote in their latest papers. “Prop. 8 thus sends a message to gay and lesbian individuals that they are not welcome in California, and it endorses society’s rejection of gay and lesbian relationships.”
