PER AFER.ORG

Today, in an historic and forceful decision, US District Court Chief Judge James S. Ware denied anti-marriage forces' motion to throw out the decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional.

He erased all doubt that the Prop. 8 trial was anything but fair and thorough and sent a powerful message that extreme fringe groups cannot strong-arm the law.
Chalk up another victory for EQUALITY!!!!

According to The New York Daily News, Pro-Gay Marriage GOP State Senator Roy McDonald had some strong words in response to his conservative and religious critics:

“You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing

You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, f— it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing.

“I’m tired of Republican-Democrat politics. They can take the job and shove it. I come from a blue-collar background. I’m trying to do the right thing, and that‘s where I’m going with this.”

We'd love to crack a cold beer with this courageous gentleman!

NEW
California Supreme Court Sets Date for Prop. 8 Hearing

Expedited Hearing Date Announced in Perry v. Brown for Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011

California Supreme Court Schedules Case on First Day of Fall Session

San Francisco, CA – The Supreme Court of California announced that the hearing date for Perry v. Brown will be on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 10:00AM. The date announced is the very first day of the court’s fall calendar. The court will hear oral arguments on a question of whether under state law proponents of initiatives have standing to defend their initiatives when they are challenged in court. The question was certified to them by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit earlier this year.

In response to the court’s scheduling order, Chad Griffin, American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) Co-Founder and Board President, had the following to say: “I am very pleased that the Supreme Court of California calendared our case for the first day of their fall session. The governor and attorney general of California – and the United States District Court – all have found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. I am confident that the California Supreme Court will swiftly reach a decision on this question, and that this nation is now one step closer to seeing the dark walls of discrimination finally crumble.”

In a separate, but related matter – the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California will hear AFER’s motion on August 29, 2011 requesting that the video recordings from our January 2010 trial be released to the public.

I signed it!!
Thanks

9/19/11

Judge Ware just ruled in favor of our side's motion to release the Prop 8 trial videotapes! This is a critical victory: allowing the public to view this testimony will show that Prop 8 was based on prejudice, that ProtectMarriage.com had no credible defense and that Judge Walker was not at all biased. This is great news for equality!

10/25/11
Prop 8 Tapes back in closet!

In September, Judge Ware did the right thing and ordered the Prop 8 tapes to be released. ProtectMarriage.com and NOM requested an emergency stay...and on 10/24, they got it. The 9th Circuit ordered the tapes to stay under wraps, and ordered a hearing for the week of December 5th to hear their appeal.

Video from last week’s Prop. 8 hearing is now online.

See the anti-marriage proponents of Prop. 8 again admit that allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry does not affect existing marriages.
Find out how the Prop. 8 proponents are trying to create a double standard that would unfairly oppress all minority judges.
Learn how video of the Prop. 8 trial is part of the judicial record which is presumptively accessible to the public.


www.afer.org/media/videos/clips-from-dec-8s-prop-8-hearing/

AFER’s federal challenge to Prop. 8 is back on the fast track. The anti-marriage forces appealed the historic Federal District Court decision that overturned Prop. 8 and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to rule at any moment.
We're on the edge of our seats!

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will issue a ruling in AFER’s case challenging Prop. 8 tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. PT.
After a lengthy and thorough trial, the Federal District Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to single out gay and lesbian couples and deny them a fundamental freedom. The anti-marriage Prop. 8 Proponents immediately appealed that decision and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will issue a decision tomorrow.

On another note: Regrettably, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to unseal the video record of the historic twelve-day public trial of Prop. 8.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2012-- Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling in Perry v. Brown upholding the historic August 2010 decision of the Federal District Court that found Proposition 8 unconstitutional. In an opinion authored by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, the Ninth Circuit concluded that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Proposition 8 stripped gay and lesbian Californians of the fundamental freedom to marry.

"Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect in California, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort," Judge Reinhardt wrote.

READ THE DECISION HERE: www.afer.org/legal-filings/ninth-circuit-decision-on-prop-8