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Attorney General Asks Court to Allow Same Sex Marriages to Resume
Married couple Diane Olson and Robin Tyler, who brought forward the lawsuit that led to gay marriage being legalized in 2008. (Tom Andrews/LAist)
While the ultimate fate and legitimacy of California's Propositon 8 remains to be decided, today Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has asked he Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to dismiss its order prohibiting same-sex marriages until the appeal case is resolved.
Should Harris' request be granted, California could resume performing legally-recognized same-sex marriages until the case is decided. Says Harris: "For 846 days, Proposition 8 has denied equality under the law to gay and lesbian couples. Each and every one of those days, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, moments have been missed, and justice has been denied."
In her written statement issued today, Harris argued that as long as same-sex couples are being denied the right to marry, "the due process and equal protection rights of same-sex couples will continue to be violated, perpetuating unconstitutional discrimination."
Harris believes it is unlikely that an appeal of the decision made by Judge Vaughan Walker, who ruled Prop 8 was unconstitutional, will be successful. Her position remains, and as reiterated in her statement today, that Proposition 8 "violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution."
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