Judge keeps gay marriages in Calif. on hold

Judge keeps gay marriages in Calif. on hold
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Copyright by The Washington Post
Thursday, August 12, 2010; 5:01 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081201011.html?hpid=topnews


Same-sex marriages may resume in California as early as Wednesday under a ruling by a federal judge, but opponents say they will try during the next six days to convince a higher court to block the decision.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker last week struck down California's voter-approved ban on same-sex unions, calling it unconstitutional. But he delayed implementation of his ruling after opponents asked for a stay, arguing that the marriages should not resume while the case is being appealed.

Vaughn denied the request Thursday, but offered a short delay that gave hope to opponents, who said they will seek a permanent stay from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals before Wednesday.

"I'm happy that the judge issued a temporary stay until next week," said Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal aid group that participated in the case. "That gives us the window we need to seek a more permanent stay as it goes before the 9th Circuit."

Gay rights groups hailed Vaughn's decision as a victory, but it fell short of the hopes of same-sex couples around the state who had lined up at city halls in the hope of getting married as soon as Thursday afternoon.

"We came to show our support and get married," said Midge Detro, 45, who with her partner of 16 years had been at San Francisco City Hall since Thursday morning. "It's extremely important, because everyone's equal and everyone deserves the same rights no matter what their race or sex or who they love."

Among those who asked Walker to implement his ruling immediately were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and state Attorney General Jerry Brown (D), who have repeatedly voiced their opposition to Proposition 8.

Last week's ruling by Vaughn that invalidated Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, was viewed by both sides as a landmark moment in the battle over same-sex marriage.

Opponents of same-sex unions had argued that heterosexual marriage is a building block of society and that Proposition 8, which passed in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote, reflected the will of the people. But in a meticulous 138-page ruling, Walker largely agreed with supporters of same-sex marriage that Proposition 8 violated gay and lesbian couples' equal rights as outlined in the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
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"Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples," wrote Walker.

The case is widely expected to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.