The supporters of Proposition 8 have filed a last-ditch petition with the Supreme Court to block same-sex marriage in California, after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay on gay marriages, the last barrier for gay couples in the state.
Reuters reports:
In their application asking the Supreme Court to overrule the 9th Circuit and reinstate the gay marriage ban, opponents argued the appeals court had jumped the gun in lifting its stay.
The Arizona-based group Alliance Defending Freedom argued that the 9th Circuit lacked authority to act when it did, and that it violated the terms of its own stay requiring the ruling remain in place "until final disposition by the Supreme Court."
The Supreme Court held last week that the backers of Proposition 8, the ballot measure in California that banned same-sex marriage, had no standing to appeal the case, and thus vacated the Ninth's Circuit's ruling on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to rule. This had the effect of reinstating the District Court ruling that the law is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Though the Supreme Court's ruling does not become final until 25 days after it hands down its decision, the Ninth Circuit lifted its injunction on same-sex marriages on Friday, and gay couples have been marrying ever since.
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