Californian appeals court will not rehear arguments for Proposition 8
Arguments about the constitutionality of California’s voter-approved ban on gay marriages will not be reheard after the motion failed to secure enough support among judges.
A challenge had aimed to have the appeals court’s decision examined again by a panel of 11 judges before any supreme court hearing.
If the en banc hearing had gone ahead, it would have delayed the final decision on Proposition 8 by a year. However, 11 of the court’s 25 active judges could not be found to support the motion to rehear the case, clearing the way for an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry said yesterday’s decision “brings committed same-sex couples in California one step closer to being able to marry”.
He added: “It’s now been three-and-a-half years since the freedom to marry was stripped from from loving and committed same-sex couples. It is long past time for this ‘gay exception’ to marriage in California to come to an end. Freedom to Marry calls on all Americans to join us in continuing to make as strong a case in the court of public opinion as legal advocates are making in the court of law.” Read More
