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Prop. 8 Stay May Be Lifted Today, West Hollywood Ready to Marry Gay Couples

hazlnut

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Prop. 8 Stay May Be Lifted Today, West Hollywood Ready to Marry Gay Couples

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker will issue a ruling today on whether or not he will continue a stay on his Proposition 8 decision, which found the anti-gay marriage ballot measure to be unconstitutional.

If Walker lifts the stay, gay and lesbian couples could marry as soon as the decision is handed down. Los Angeles County and West Hollywood officials are already gearing up for such a possibility.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed briefs with Walker last week, asking the judge to lift the stay.

The ruling is expected to come between 9 a.m. and 12 noon, according to the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which organized and helped fund the lawsuit that overturned Proposition 8.

West Hollywood officials have said that if the stay is lifted, they plan to marry couples as soon as possible. West Hollywood City Council members have already been deputized to officiate over weddings, and couples will need to make appointments with the city clerk's office.

I have no idea which way this will go, I do hope that people are able to start getting married ASAP -- but the judge may try to silence his critics by staying his own ruling.

I know there are people in CA who think their vote was just "thrown out" by a federal judge. That is not the case at all. In fact, the state supreme court upheld their vote and the state constitution was amended. Their vote was upheld... the new version of the CA state constitution however, does not provide equal protection to gays and lesbians.

Good luck to those fighting this battle, and best wishes to the 600 couples waiting to take the leap in West Hollywood today!!
 
As pretty much every one here knows, I strongly favor gay marriage. However, I think lifting the stay would be a mistake. Let the legislative process work, and then do the marriages. It's a step by step process.
 
As pretty much every one here knows, I strongly favor gay marriage. However, I think lifting the stay would be a mistake. Let the legislative process work, and then do the marriages. It's a step by step process.

I can agree with that. If the stay is lifted, then a higher court reverses this ruling, the result would be mayhem.
 
It was mayhem for California to legalize gay marriage against the will of the people and then pass Prop 8. Now they have roughly 18,000 legal gay marriages under a constitutional ban. It's foolish to legalize gay marriages during this judicial battle. It will only further add to tensions and mixups.
 
UPDATE -- Judge Lifts Stay on Prop. 8 Ruling; Gay Marriages to Resume Aug. 18

This just in: San Francisco Federal Judge Vaughn Walker on Thursday lifted the stay on his ruling from last week, in which he found that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

One caveat: Walker extended a temporary stay until August 18, in order to give Proposition 8 supporters — and the defendants in the case — time to appeal the ruling to the Ninth Circuit. So gay marriage cannot yet resume in the Golden State. Click here for the LA Times article.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown had urged Walker to permit same-sex marriages to resume, arguing the state was well-equipped to handle them.

Having your cake and eating it too or making this decision someone else's problem?
 
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