Supporters of California’s Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage in the state, took their fight to the next level Tuesday by filing a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn lower court rulings.
Prop. 8 was passed by California voters in 2008 as a ballot measure, outlawing same-sex marriage in the state. But on Feb. 7, a federal appeals court struck down the law in California and ruled it unconstitutional.
Supporters of the 2008 ballot measure are now asking for the Supreme Court to review the case in hopes of having Proposition 8 reinstated. The petitioners include the website ProtectMarriage.com and four other individuals – Gail Knight, Martin Gutierrez, Mark Jansson and former California assemblymember Dennis Hollingsworth.
Attorneys of the individuals filed the petition Tuesday morning, asking the Supreme Court to question “whether the … Fourteenth Amendment prohibits … California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman,” according to the petition.
Same-sex marriage is already legal in seven states and the District of Columbia.
The Courage Campaign is an advocacy organization that fights for full lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, including the recent repeal of Prop. 8. It expressed its discontent with the petition in a statement Tuesday.
“We can only hope that the Supreme Court will once again act for all Americans on the right side of history, not for a few hysterical ones scared of love,” said Rick Jacobs, the organization’s founder, in the statement.
Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff.