Prop 8 Lawsuit Lives On

Those people hoping for a showdown before the US Supreme Court over the issue of gay marriage got one step closer to their wish today.

Judge Vaughn Walker, the chief judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California, refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, California's ballot initiative that amended the state's constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.

In a ruling delivered from the bench in San Francisco, Judge Walker stated that the case raised factual issues that required a trial, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.  Supporters of Prop. 8 had asked the judge to dismiss the suit, claiming that US Supreme Court precedent did not extend the right to marriage to homosexuals. 

Judge Walker rejected this argument, however, and stated that the Supreme Court had not limited the right to marry to certain groups.

This sets the stage for a showdown at trial, and then throughout the appellate process.  Neither side seems likely to back down, so you can expect them to take this one all the way to the top - assuming that the Supreme Court agrees to take the case.

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More Posts on Prop. 8 Lawsuits (CourtSide)