As you may have heard, immediately after our victory in the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8, a new lawsuit – this time in federal court – was filed claiming that Prop 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. While the case is based on highly questionable grounds (there is no federal right to same-sex marriage under the U.S. Constitution), it does benefit from two high-powered attorneys: Ted Olson and David Boies. Olson is a Republican and former lawyer for George Bush; Boies is a Democrat and former lawyer for Al Gore. We are treating this case seriously.
In order to make sure that Prop 8 and the will of the people is fully defended, we are immediately filing a motion to intervene in the litigation, just as we did in the California Supreme Court. Without our intervention, the entire legal defense of Prop 8 in the federal court will fall upon the California Attorney General, a troubling prospect since he has stated firmly that he believes that Prop 8 is unconstitutional and should be invalidated. We are optimistic that the federal court will allow us to intervene and provide a legal defense for Prop 8. An initial hearing in this case will be held in July.
We will keep you informed as this dangerous case unfolds. If you wish to contribute to the legal defense of Prop 8, please donate here to the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law. Thank you for your loyal and continued support for traditional marriage.
Sincerely,
Andy Pugno
General Counsel, ProtectMarriage.com
