Gay Marriage Ban Wins in Calif., Raising Doubts on 18,000 Weddings
Updated: A proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in California has passed, raising questions about the estimated 18,000 gay weddings performed in the state.
The California Supreme Court had ruled 4-3 in May that gays have a constitutional right to marry. The Los Angeles Times reports that the constitutional amendment to overturn that ruling, known as Proposition 8, passed with the approval of about 52 percent of the voters.
State Attorney General Jerry Brown has said gay marriages already performed will remain valid, but his opinion is likely be contested, the Sacramento Business Journal says.
Yet Brown plans to defend the proposition in court challenges, consistent with the role of his office. Three petitions challenging the referendum were filed in the California Supreme Court on Wednesday.
At issue is whether the change is an amendment to the state Constitution that can be approved by a simple majority of the voters or a far-reaching revision requiring either a two-thirds vote of the legislature or a constitutional convention.
Lawyers, judges and law professors had contributed more than $1.6 million to campaigns for and against the amendment, the Daily Journal reported last week. Irell & Manella partner Eric Webber was one of two lawyers listed in the story as donating $25,000 to committees fighting over Proposition 8; Webber donated to groups opposing the anti-gay marriage amendment.
Webber is one of seven Irell & Manella lawyers that contributed at least $5,000 each to fight Proposition 8, the AmLaw Daily reports. A $15,000 contributor, Laura Brill, wrote an amicus brief that had asked the California Supreme Court to strike down the state’s gay marriage ban.
On the other side is Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, the law firm “most united in its opposition to gay marriage,” according to the AmLaw Daily.
While the law firm has not taken a position on Proposition 8, lawyers there donated $23,500 in support of the measure since Oct.1 and only $6,000 to groups opposing it, the story says.
Updated at 10:20 a.m. to include news that the Los Angeles Times is reporting the measure has been approved. Updated on Nov. 6 to clarify that Knobbe Martens has not taken a position on Proposition 8. Updated on Nov. 7 to include news of the petitions challenging the referendum.
