Proposition 8 was a 2008 California voter initiative that eliminated same-sex couples right to marry in that state. It was in reaction to a state Supreme Court decision of earlier that year that lesbian and gay couples were entitled to marry under the California Constitution, which allowed 18,000 same-sex couples to marry in that state before Election Day. Starting with the 2008 campaign and continuously since its passage, Proposition 8 has been central in the intense national discussion about whether, where and when same-sex couples should be permitted to marry.
Prop 8 was challenged in the California courts in 2008, yielding a decision upholding the existing marriages but preventing more in the future. Famed lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies launched a federal court challenge in May 2009, with a keenly watched trial in January 2010, and the first federal marriage victory for same-sex couples in August 2010.
The appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has presented multiple new questions of federal law, including not just the broad equal protection and due process rulings made by the district judge, but also whether Prop 8s original proponents are entitled to press an appeal in place of the state officials who declined to defend the initiative.
On February 7, 2012, the three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit held on a 2-1 vote that Prop 8 violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminating against a vulnerable minority group, gay men and lesbians. The decision was the latest marriage victory for same-sex couples in California since their loss at the polls in 2008. With the cases high profile nationally and a firm dissenting opinion, the focus intensifies on whether the case now is headed for the United States Supreme Court.
Jennifer C. Pizer, Legal Director and Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law, at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law will discuss this landmark court victory for same-sex couples, the larger context of the fights about same-sex couples and marriage in the United States, and the future of Proposition 8.
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