Hopeful. It's All About Love

Fresh in from the Gay and Lesbian Center of Los Angeles:

Dear Don:

Just this afternoon, the California Supreme Court decided to grant review to numerous lawsuits regarding Prop. 8, making the case that:

• Prop. 8 is invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution.

• Prop. 8 violates the separation of powers doctrine under the California Constitution.

• If Prop. 8 is not unconstitutional, the marriages performed before Prop 8 passed should still be valid.

The court gave a very short briefing schedule, giving the state until December 19th to respond and giving our side until January 5th to respond to those briefs. Amicus briefs must be filed by January 15th, with replies to those due by January 21st.
The court did NOT grant a stay of Prop. 8 as had been requested. So, during the pendency of this matter, no marriage licenses will be issued to same-sex couples. Over the past 100 years, the California Supreme Court has heard nine cases challenging either legislative enactments or initiatives as invalid revisions of the California Constitution. In three of those cases, the Court invalidated those measures.

We are very pleased that the Court has granted review of these cases (they could have opted to not consider the lawsuits), but this should not be considered an indication they will rule in our favor. We’ll keep you updated as news develops.

Sincerely,
Lorri

If you missed the Olbermann Coverage, this is what it’s all about: Love, man.