Calif. Gay-Marriage Ruling Comes Next Week

Groups would move to oust any high court members who overturn gay-marriage ban

(NEWSER) - California’s moderately conservative Supreme Court faces pressure from both fronts of the gay-marriage battle, the Los Angeles Times reports. Opponents of Proposition 8—including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger—are collecting arguments for why the amendment should be struck down, while supporters have promised to oust judges who rule the other way. Justices are supposed to ignore such threats, but that may prove difficult. More»

(NEWSER) - One of California's biggest and most influential gay rights groups says it will delay a ballot push to overcome the state's ban on same-sex marriage until 2012, the Los Angeles Times reports. Equality California, which led the failed effort to defeat Prop 8 in November, says there is too little time to raise the millions of dollars necessary for a 2010 offensive. More»

Calif. AG argues popular vote should not void personal liberties

(NEWSER) - California’s attorney general has reversed position and asked the state’s supreme court to void the ban on gay marriage enacted by voters in November, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Jerry Brown said in a filing yesterday that Proposition 8 is "inconsistent with the guarantees of individual liberty" in the state's charter, and that such guarantees should not be nullified by popular vote. More»

Aims to avoid marriages in legal limbo if bill is upheld

(NEWSER) - As gay-rights campaigners petition the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8, the state’s attorney general is urging the court to let the measure banning same-sex marriage take effect. Jerry Brown asked the court to rule on the lawsuits to give the question “certainty and finality”—and wants to avoid marriages that could end up in legal limbo in the interim, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Supporters call move a 'hail mary'

(NEWSER) - Democratic legislators in California have filed a brief calling on the state Supreme Court to reject a ballot proposition that would ban gay marriage in the state, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure, Proposition 8, passed by some 500,000 votes. The lawmakers argue that such sweeping change would require a full constitutional revision by the legislature. More»