SAN FRANCISCO – One day after a federal judge struck down California’s ban on gay marriage, supporters of the voter-approved law yesterday filed notice with the court that they would appeal, firing a new salvo in what experts say will be a long legal battle ahead.
The one-paragraph document, which is largely a formality, informs US district court judge Vaughn Walker that the defendants intend to appeal his decision to the 9th US circuit court of appeals.
That appeal had been expected in a politically charged case that most believe will ultimately be decided by the US supreme court and could inject a divisive social issue into US congressional and state elections this autumn, including California’s race for governor. Judge Walker overturned California’s voter-approved ban on gay marriages, known as Proposition 8, on Wednesday after finding that it violates the due process and equal protection provisions of the US constitution.
But the judge ordered that Proposition 8 remain in place at least temporarily while he decides on a request by supporters of the law to keep it intact as it moves to a higher court.
Walker issued his legal “stay” to the ruling in order to give both sides a chance to file legal papers on whether the halt should be extended during the appeals process. The deadline for each side to issue legal briefs is today, and Walker could rule on an extension at any time after that.
Theodore Boutrous jnr of the law firm Gibson Dunn Crutcher, which represents same-sex couples in the case, said: “Our plan is to oppose a stay.”
Even if Walker decides to lift the stay, an appeal to the ninth circuit by the measure’s supporters would put the judge’s ruling on hold, meaning the battle is expected to continue for months to come, experts said.
Boutrous said plaintiffs intend to ask the appeals court to hear the case on a fast schedule.
Meanwhile, the issue is certain to make the agenda of many congressional and state elections in the autumn, which is exactly what the Democrats and President Barack Obama, who has said he opposes legalising gay marriage, had hoped to avoid.
Already in California, Republican Meg Whitman and Democrat Jerry Brown, who are running for governor, released statements staking out essentially opposite sides of the issue, with Mr Brown in favour of the ruling and Ms Whitman opposed.
Other challenges are under way across the US, where a 2009 Gallup poll found that 57 per cent of Americans oppose same-sex marriage, and could arrive at the supreme court at the same time.
In Massachusetts, a judge recently struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman under US law.
Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Washington, DC.
In July, Argentina became the first South American country to legalise same-sex marriage. A few other countries around the world permit it, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal and Canada. – (Reuters)