Gay Marriage Opponents File Appeal in Prop. 8 Case

As Lyle Denniston
notes at SCOTUSblog, the backers of California?s Proposition 8,
which had amended the state constitution in order to forbid gay
marriage, have opted not to appeal their recent loss before a
3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme
Court, but will instead ask an 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit to
first reconsider their case:

Arguing that the issue is of ?exceptional importance? and that a
Ninth Circuit Court panel got it wrong, sponsors of California?s
2008 ban on same-sex marriage in the state??Proposition 8??asked
the appeals court to reconsider the case en banc, a move that would
wipe out the panel ruling and slow the progress of the case toward
the Supreme Court. In a 52-page rehearing petition, the ballot
measure?s backers contended that the panel?s decision on
February 7 directly contradicts four prior Supreme Court
rulings.


The petition also sought to have the fuller court wipe out the
District Court judge?s 2010 ruling that nullified Proposition 8,
asserting that his failure to disclose that he is a gay man
involved in a long-term partnership disqualified him from trying
the case?an argument that the Ninth Circuit panel had rejected.

For additional coverage of the Prop. 8 case, go
here. For a look at what the Supreme Court's recent rulings on
gay rights may mean for the future of gay marriage, see
here.

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