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The legal battle over Proposition 8 continued yesterday, as a California court of appeal extended the state’s same-sex marriage ban until the end of the year.

Proposition 8, or the California Marriage Protection Act, was a constitutional amendment brought into force in November 2008. It provides that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

Earlier this month, US District Judge Vaughn Walker found the ban to be “unconstitutional” and later ruled it be lifted as of 5pm yesterday. Judge Walker gave opponents one week to appeal the decision.

They took the case to the 9th District Court of Appeal, arguing that the ban should be extended until their appeal has been heard. These appeal proceeding have now been scheduled for 6 December.

Although the ruling comes as a blow for gay marriage activists, the Court has also demanded that those mounting the appeal justify their legal standing for bringing the case to court. If they are unable to prove that they are directly affected by the Judge’s order to lift the ban, their case will not be recognised and their appeal will lapse.

This legal complication has arisen because the original case, brought by two gay couples seeking the right to marry, named California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown as defendants. Rather than opposing gay marriage, both men have recently announced their support for lifting the ban.

Commentators are divided over what will happen next. Some predict that the high profile and nature of the case will see the court recognising the pro-Proposition 8 lobby’s appeal. This would pave the way for a lengthy legal battle before potentially reaching the US Supreme Court. Others feel that the court may take advantage of the legal standing issue to avoid hearing the appeal, upholding the lifting of the ban.

Geoff Kors, Executive Director of LGBT rights group Equality California, responded to the extension of the ban: “We are extremely disappointed that loving, same-sex couples will have to wait to marry, and that we are once again being denied our fundamental rights.

“However, we are optimistic for a favorable ruling, and we’re hopeful that same-sex couples will be able to marry as soon as possible.”

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |