The hate groups behind Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage amendment in the California constitution, lost their appeal for an immediate to halt same-sex marriages in the state this week, but the Republican-controlled state Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on their petition in August and could decide to reinstate a permanent ban then:
The California Supreme Court on Monday said it would not step in to immediately stop gay marriages in the state, denying a petition from Proposition 8 supporters filed last week.
The court did set a date to address the issues in the petition, which argued that because the U.S. Supreme Court in June did not rule on the constitutionality of Prop 8, instead ruling that proponents of the measure had no standing to appeal a district court decision, that means Proposition 8 is still the law of the land in California.
On Monday, the California Supreme Court denied without further explanation the request to immediately stop same-sex marriages from Alliance Defense Freedom and Protectmarriage.com. The court will still consider arguments, however, on the questions presented in the petition. It ordered the parties in the case to submit arguments on the matter by Aug. 1.
ADF said it was hopeful the court would side with them and uphold Proposition 8.
“Everyone on all sides of the marriage debate should agree that the legal process must be followed. Although we would have preferred for the California Supreme Court to issue a stay so that the state’s marriage amendment would be respected sooner rather than later, the proponents of Proposition 8 will continue to urge the court to uphold the rule of law,” senior counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a statement.
