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Bad Timing For Federal Gay Rights

Mike

Well-known member
I think what these people are saying is; wait until Zer0 "Liberalizes" the Federal Courts before a premature move is made? :roll:
Responding To Appeal By Bush v. Gore Lawyers, Gay Groups Warn Against "Ill-Timed Lawsuits"
All Headline News ^ | May 28, 2009 | Kris Alingod


Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Gay advocates on Wednesday warned against taking the fight to legalize same-sex marriages to federal courts, saying doing so will make it more difficult to gain marriage equality. The same day, lawyers who were at opposing sides of the Bush v. Gore case in the 2000 presidential race filed a lawsuit appealing the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold Proposition 8.

In a joint statement, the American Civil Rights Union (ACLU), Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights and other prominent liberal groups said filing "ill-timed, premature" lawsuits based on the federal Constitution.

"Pushing the federal government with multiple lawsuits before we have a critical mass of states recognizing same-sex relationships or suing in states where the courts aren't ready is likely to lead to bad rulings," they said. "Bad rulings will make it much more difficult for us to win marriage, and will certainly make it take much longer."

The California Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected by a 6-1 vote a constitutional challenged to Proposition 8, an initiative banning same-sex marriages in the state. But the court also unanimously declared the 18,000 gay marriages conducted last year legal.

On Wednesday, former Bush administration Solicitor General Theodore Olson and David Boies, who represented former Vice President Al Gore in the U.S. Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 presidential race, filed an lawsuit before the U.S. District Court in San Francisco appealing the ruling.

"There will be many people who will think this is not the time to go to federal court," Olson said in a press conference, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"I don't think I've ever been part of any organization that was anti-gay or felt that a group was not entitled to equal rights," he added.

A hearing on the appeal has been set for July 2.

Proposition 8 was passed on Nov. 4 overturning a California Supreme Court ruling last June 16 that gay couples had a constitutional right to be married, and amid broad opposition from civil rights and gay groups as well as state officials including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and attorney general Jerry Brown.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights had called the California Supreme Court ruling upholding the ban "a terrible blow," but also said the court's decision to declare the thousands of gay marriages in the state valid "reaffirmed the Court's prior holding that sexual orientation is subject to the highest level of protection under the California Constitution."

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), one of the groups that joined in issuing the warning against filing appeals, had also said, "It is wrong to stand in the way of giving committed couples the legal protections they need to take care of and be responsible for each other and their families."

A ruling by the California Supreme Court in favor of gay couples would have made California the sixth state to allow same-sex marriages. Several states have moved to legalize same-sex marriages in recent weeks.

Maine Gov. John Baldacci earlier this month signed a gay marriage bill into law, while last month Vermont's state House and Senate both voted to override a veto from Gov. Jim Douglas against a bill legalizing same-sex marriages.

Vermont was the first state to legalize same-sex marriages without an order from the court. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa all allowed such marriages only after bitter court battles. The one in Iowa ended April 3, when the state supreme court upheld a lower court decision ruling the state's ban on gay marriages unconstitutional.
 
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