Ninth Circuit Court Rules on Proposition 8, US Supreme Court Appeal Expected
via the Democratic Caucus
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals released its opinion today on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. A majority of the court (2-1) ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional, citing that elements of the law violate the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause.
The Court affirmed unanimously (3-0) on other parts of the case, including the lower court's ruling that Judge Vaughn Walker did not need to recuse himself because he is gay and in a long-term committed relationship that might result in marriage should Prop 8 be overturned, as opponents of equal legal rights for gays and lesbians were arguing. The Court also unanimously agreed that proponents of the original ballot measure did have the right to bring the appeal since state Constitutional officers who usually have such responsibility (the Governor and Attorney General, for example) declined to take up the appeal.
In reaction to the ruling, Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg issued the following statement, “Today, California is significantly closer to the basic civil right of marriage equality. Like all other civil rights struggles in our history, the work is never done. Every big step forward is a step closer to eliminating discrimination in our society. My hope is that any justices considering a potential appeal will exhibit the same level of courage we have seen today.”
In the majority opinion, the Court noted, "The People may not employ the initiative power to single out a disfavored group for unequal treatment and strip them, without legitimate justification, of a right as important as the right to marry."
Also, the majority opinion discussed, rather poetically, the significance of the word "marriage" as opposed to "registered domestic partnership":
"By emphasizing Proposition 8's limited effect, we do not mean to minimize the harm that this change in the law caused to same-sex couples and their families. To the contrary, we emphasize the extraordinary significance of the official designation of 'marriage.' That designation is important because 'marriage' is the name that society gives to the relationship that matters most between two adults. A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but to the couple desiring to enter into a committed lifelong relationship, a marriage by the name of 'registered domestic partnership' does not...
"As Proponents have admitted, "the word 'marriage' has a unique meaning,"... We are excited to see someone ask, "Will you marry me?" whether on bended knee in a restaurant or in text splashed across a stadium Jumbotron. Certainly it would not have the same effect to see "Will you enter into a registered domestic partnership with me?" Groucho Marx's one-liner, "Marriage is a wonderful institution.. but who wants to live in an institution?" would lack its punch if the word 'marriage' were replaced with the alternative phrase. So too with Shakespeare's "A young man married is a man that's marr'd," Lincoln's "Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory," and Sinatra's "A man doesn't know what happiness is until he's married. By then it's too late." We see tropes like "marrying for love" versus "marrying for money" played out again and again in our films and literature because of the recognized importance and permanence of the marriage relationship. Had Marilyn Monroe's film been called How to Register a Domestic Partnership with a Millionaire, it would not have conveyed the same meaning as did her famous movie, even though the underlying drama for same-sex couples is no different."
Protect Marriage, the backers of Proposition 8, can appeal today’s decision to a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit or go directly to the US Supreme Court. With such an appeal expected, the ban on same-sex marriage remains in effect. If the interim step of a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit is skipped, the US Supreme Court could rule on gay marriage as early as next year.
