Those pressing the Supreme Court to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 essentially argue that marriage as we’ve always known it is not constitutional. But redefining marriage would make marriage about the desires of adults rather than the well-being of children. That was the …
When citizens in Maryland, Maine, Washington, and Minnesota go to the polls in November, they will be confronted with ballot initiatives that speak to the central question of what marriage is. In Minnesota, voters will consider whether to amend their state constitution to preserve the definition of marriage between one …
Earlier this week, supporters of Proposition 8, the 2008 California marriage amendment, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the freedom of California voters to define marriage as one man and one woman in their state constitution. This request comes at the same time that voters prepare to vote on …
C-SPAN does not cover many federal appellate courts hearings. On Monday, in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the case involving the constitutionality of California’s voter-approved Prop 8, the cable public service provider made a not-at-all surprising exception. Before a three-judge panel in a San Francisco courthouse, defenders of traditional marriage squared off …
Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to lift the stay on his ruling striking down California’s voter-approved Proposition 8 is, fortunately, not the last word on whether same-sex couples in the Golden State will be able to obtain marriage licenses while this case is under appeal. The appropriate panel of the 9th …
This week in a federal district courtroom in San Francisco, the trial that could alter the future of the institution of marriage came to an end. The closing arguments featured prominent national attorneys seeking to answer 39 final questions framed by the presiding judge, Vaughn Walker. At issue is the …
Last week, the evidentiary phase of the trial in Perry v. Schwarzenegger came to an end. Perry is the federal court lawsuit in California that claims, in effect, that the U.S. Constitution contains a right to same-sex marriage. Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 …
