Lawsuits To Overturn Proposition 8
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''Strauss v. Horton'', 46 Cal. 4th 364, 93 Cal. Rptr. 3d 591, 207 P.3d 48 (2009), was a decision of the
Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
, the state's highest court. It resulted from lawsuits that challenged the voters' adoption of
Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment, state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the California state elections, November 2008, Novem ...
on November 4, 2008, which amended the
Constitution of California The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...
to outlaw
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. Several gay couples and governmental entities filed the lawsuits in California state
trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...
s. The Supreme Court of California agreed to hear appeals in three of the cases and consolidated them so they would be considered and decided. The supreme court heard
oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...
in the cases in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
on March 5, 2009. Justice
Kathryn Mickle Werdegar } Kathryn Jocelyn Mickle Werdegar (born April 5, 1936) is a former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, serving from June 3, 1994, to August 31, 2017. Biography Werdegar earned her Bachelor of Arts, B.A. with academic honors, hono ...
stated that the cases will set precedent in California because "no previous case had presented the question of whether ballotinitiative could be used to take away fundamental rights". The court announced its decision on May 26, 2009. The decision held that Proposition 8 was valid as adopted by the voters, but that marriages performed before Proposition 8 went into effect would remain valid. On June 26, 2013, ''Strauss v. Horton'' was mooted by '' Hollingsworth v. Perry''.


Background

On November 13, 2008, the
California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
asked
state Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
to reply by November 17, 2008, to a number of lawsuits challenging the voter-approved ban on
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
. The filing the court requested from the Attorney General was not to address the ballot measure's validity, but to focus on whether the justices should accept the suits for review and whether Proposition 8 should be suspended while they decide the case, said Christopher Krueger, a senior assistant attorney general. On November 17, 2008, the Attorney General urged the court to hear these cases in order to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not suspend Proposition 8. On November 19, 2008, the California Supreme Court accepted three lawsuits (''Strauss et al. v. Horton'', ''Tyler et al. v. State of California et al.'', and ''City and County of San Francisco et al. v. Horton et al.'') challenging Proposition 8 and said that it would hear the cases together, but denied the requests to stay its enforcement. Three additional lawsuits (''Asian Pacific American Legal Center et al. v. Horton et al.'', ''Equal Rights Advocates and California Women's Law Center v. Horton et al.'', and ''California Council of Churches et al. v. Horton et al.'') on the matter were denied hearing, but those petitioners were invited by the court to file
amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
s in the cases which were accepted.


Issues


Whether Proposition 8 is a revision

The lawsuits claimed that revoking the right of same-sex couples to marry is a constitutional ''revision'' rather than an ''amendment''. In California, both constitutional ''amendments'' and ''revisions'' require that a majority of voters approve the ballot initiative. However, a ''revision'', defined as a "substantial alteration of the entire constitution rather than to a less extensive change in one or more of its provisions," also requires the prior approval of 2/3 of each house of the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
.
Erwin Chemerinsky Erwin Chemerinsky (born May 14, 1953) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure. Since 2017, Chemerinsky has been the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Previously, he a ...
, the dean of the law school at the
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...
, stated, "the California Supreme Court has never articulated criteria for what makes something an amendment versus a revision. So I don't think you can predict anything because there is so little law." Claims made on similar grounds with respect to other constitutional changes have in some cases taken years to be adjudicated, and almost all have failed.
Kenji Yoshino Kenji Yoshino (born May 1, 1969) is a legal scholar and the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at New York University School of Law. Formerly, he was the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His work involve ...
, an openly gay man who serves as the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at
New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
, cast doubt on the "revision" argument, stating that "for both precedential and political reasons, I think this case is a loser."


Whether Proposition 8 violates separation of powers

Like the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
, the
California Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California's original co ...
employs the concept of
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
. The lawsuits argue that the protection of minority groups via the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is inherently a judiciary function, which cannot be overturned by the legislative branch of government, and therefore cannot be overturned by the initiative-amendment process.


Whether Proposition 8 invalidates existing marriages

A pending legal issue was whether the approximately 18,000 same-sex marriages already in effect would be retroactively annulled by the constitutional change or whether they would be preserved, since the amendment does not state explicitly that it would nullify same-sex marriages performed before the change took effect. California Attorney General
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
said that existing same-sex marriages would be unaffected, but other legal experts were uncertain. On December 19, 2008, supporters of Prop. 8 filed briefs responding to each of the anti-Prop. 8 lawsuits already filed with the State Supreme Court and seeking to nullify same-sex marriages already in effect.


Whether voters can override inalienable rights

The Attorney General's response to the lawsuits included a new argument that the Court should overturn Proposition 8. That brief contends that California's initiative-amendment process does not give voters the right to overturn rights in California's Declaration of Rights without a "compelling justification".


Involved parties


Petitioners

Plaintiffs A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
in the three lawsuits included same-sex couples who had married or planned to marry, represented by the same legal team that argued and won
In re Marriage Cases ''In re Marriage Cases'', 43 Cal. 4th 757 (Cal. 2008) was a California Supreme Court case where the court held that laws treating classes of persons differently based on sexual orientation should be subject to strict judicial scrutiny, and that ...
,
Lambda Legal Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities as well as people living with HIV/ AIDS ( PWAs) through i ...
, the
National Center for Lesbian Rights The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a non-profit, public interest law firm in the United States that advocates for equitable public policies affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, provides free legal ...
, and the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
of Northern California, as well as the cities of
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and the
county of Santa Clara Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...
. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to join the lawsuit filed by the City of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Clara County, the four becoming the first governmental entities in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to sue for marriage equality for homosexual couples. This lawsuit was subsequently joined by
Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...
,
Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, and the cities of Fremont,
Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
,
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
,
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, Santa Cruz,
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
and
Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
. The petitioners were represented by
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
City Attorney Therese M. Stewart.


Respondents

As the
respondent {{unreferenced, date=February 2012 A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning. Legal usage In ...
s in these cases were the State of California and some of its officials in their
official capacity An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...
, California Attorney General
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
and his office were the primary individuals charged with responding to the lawsuit. Other respondents include Mark B. Horton of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and Linette Scott of the
California Department of Public Health The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is the state department responsible for public health in California. It is a subdivision of the California Health and Human Services Agency. It enforces some of the laws in the California Health ...
. On December 19, 2008, the Attorney General's office filed its response, whose final section supported overturning Proposition 8. The brief argued that: # Although Proposition 8 should ''not'' be overturned on the grounds of revision/amendment analysis or on separation-of-power grounds as proposed in the original lawsuits, # Proposition 8 should ''not'', if upheld, overturn existing same-sex marriages performed in California, and # Proposition 8 ''should'' be "stricken as inconsistent with the guarantees of individual liberty safeguarded by article I, section 1 of the Constitution." In discussing the last section of the answer brief, the Attorney General explained, "Proposition 8 violates constitutionally protected liberties. There are certain rights that are not to be subject to popular votes, otherwise they are not fundamental rights. If every fundamental liberty can be stripped away by a majority vote, then it's not a fundamental liberty." According to the ''
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
'', Brown's argument for overturning Proposition 8 left Proposition 8 supporters legally isolated because the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
would normally defend existing state laws. Brown responded to this noting that the California Constitution also constitutes existing state law.


Intervenors

ProtectMarriage.com ProtectMarriage.com was a collection of conservative and religious American political activist groups aligned in opposition to same-sex marriage. The coalition's stated goal is to "defend and restore the definition of marriage as between a man an ...
, the sponsors of Proposition 8, asked for permission to intervene in the cases. On November 19, 2008, the Court granted permission for them to do so. The Campaign for California Families, a conservative religious organization, also asked the court for permission to become an official party to all three cases. The group unsuccessfully sought to place a same-sex marriage ban on the November ballot that also would have denied domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples. Represented by the Florida-based
Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who a ...
, the Campaign said in its motion to intervene that state officials would not adequately defend the rights of voters. On November 19, 2008, the Court denied permission for CCF to intervene in the cases. On December 19, 2008, the official proponents of Proposition 8 filed briefs responding to each of the anti-Prop. 8 lawsuits already filed with the court, seeking to uphold the validity of Proposition 8 against the lawsuits and nullify same-sex marriages already in effect.
Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...
, dean of
Pepperdine University School of Law The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris Doc ...
and
Whitewater controversy The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, Whitewatergate, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s. It began with an investigation into the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their ass ...
, joined the Proposition 8 legal defence team that same day.


''Amici''

By January 19, 2009, sixty ''
amicus curiae An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
'' letters had been sent to the Court and posted on the Court's web site, 43 in opposition to all or part of Proposition 8, 17 in support. Forty-four members of the California Legislature (about one-third of its membership) filed an ''amicus curiae''
brief Brief, briefs, or briefing may refer to: Documents * A letter * A briefing note * Papal brief, a papal letter less formal than a bull, sealed with the pope's signet ring or stamped with the device borne on this ring * Design brief, a type of ed ...
in support of one of the three lawsuits. The
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and three other legal or civil rights groups also submitted letters supporting efforts to get the court to delay implementation of Proposition 8.


Oral arguments

Oral arguments took place on March 5, 2009, at the Supreme Court's headquarters in San Francisco, while thousands from both sides protested outside. A television screen had been set up, displaying live shots from the proceedings within the court.
Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, kno ...
, lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com, argued that "Prop. 8 was a modest measure that left the rights of same-sex couples undisturbed under California's domestic-partner laws and other statutes banning discrimination based on sexual orientation," to the agreement of most of the judges. Chief Justice
Ronald M. George Ronald Marc George (born March 11, 1940) is an American jurist. He previously served as the 27th Chief Justice of California from 1996 to 2011. Governor of California, Governor Pete Wilson appointed George as an associate justice of the Supreme Co ...
, however, said, "It is just too easy to amend the California Constitution." Starr's argument was challenged in and out of court by two members of his own faculty who argued the court had an obligation to secure both equality and religious freedom, and majorities cannot assume to have the power to deprive minorities of fundamental rights. The main issue which arose during the oral argument included the meaning of the word "
inalienable ''InAlienable'' is a 2007 science fiction film with horror and comic elements, written and executive produced by Walter Koenig, and directed by Robert Dyke. It was the first collaboration of Koenig and Dyke since their 1989 production of ''Moon ...
", and to which extent this word goes when used in Article I of the Californian Constitution. Christopher Krueger of the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
's office said that inalienable rights may not be stripped away by the initiative process. Those claims were rebuffed by Attorney Kenneth Starr, who said, "rights are important, but they don't go to structure. ... rights are ultimately defined by the people."


Decision

The Supreme Court reported on May 22 that it would reach a verdict on the validity of Proposition 8 and the 18,000 same-sex marriages in question on Tuesday, May 26 at 10:00am. Because of the
Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
holiday, the court released its opinion on a Tuesday instead of Monday, as is traditional.


Majority opinion

On May 26, 2009 the California Supreme Court reported its decision on the validity of Proposition 8 and the 18,000 same-sex marriages in question. The proposition was upheld, but existing marriages were allowed to stand. Both the majority and Justice Werdegard emphasized that the ruling applied specifically to the use of the designation "Marriage", and that the ruling left the
domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...
institution as well as several protections from ''
In re Marriage Cases ''In re Marriage Cases'', 43 Cal. 4th 757 (Cal. 2008) was a California Supreme Court case where the court held that laws treating classes of persons differently based on sexual orientation should be subject to strict judicial scrutiny, and that ...
'' completely unaffected. The majority opinion stated:
The Attorney General's contention ... rests inaccurately upon an overstatement of the effect of Proposition 8 on both the fundamental constitutional right of privacy guaranteed by article I, section 1, and on the due process and equal protection guarantees of article I, section 7. As explained below, Proposition 8 does not abrogate any of these state constitutional rights, but instead carves out a narrow exception applicable only to access to the designation of the term "marriage," but not to any other of "the core set of basic substantive legal rights and attributes traditionally associated with marriage . . .
The majority also noted that "Proposition 8 must be understood as creating a limited exception to the state equal protection clause."


Concurrence

Justices Kennard and Werdegar filed concurring opinions. Kennard noted primarily that whereas "interpretation" of the law is a Judicial power, "alteration" is not, and as the proposal altered the language to be interpreted, it could not possibly violate the separation of powers. Werdegar considered that much of the argumentation of the majority regarding the difference between a "revision" and an "amendment" was flawed, expressing specific concern that the ruling "gives the foundational principles of social organization in free societies, such as equal protection, less protection from hasty, unconsidered change than principles of governmental organization."


Dissent

Justice Moreno's dissent agreed with the petitioners' contention that "requiring discrimination against a minority group on the basis of a suspect classification strikes at the core of the promise of equality that underlies our California Constitution" and thus should be considered a revision. Citing ''
Varnum v. Brien ''Varnum v. Brien'', 763 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2009), was an Iowa Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that the state's limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. The ...
'', Moreno stated that "equal protection principles lie at the core of the California Constitution and have been embodied in that document from its inception," and that "As a logical matter,
he equal protection clause He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
cannot depend on the will of the majority for its enforcement, for it is the will of the majority against which the equal protection clause is designed to protect." He concurred with the majority over the fact that the 18,000 valid marriages before Proposition 8 would remain (thus, Proposition 8 is not retroactive), as well as concurring with the majority opinion that "Proposition 8 does not entirely repeal or abrogate a same-sex couple's substantive state constitutional right to marry as set forth in the '' Marriage Cases''." Despite this, he dissented on the major question at issue and stated that Proposition 8 was indeed a constitutional revision that required a two-thirds legislative vote, citing article 18 of the California Constitution and the history of the constitutional provisions for amendments and revisions.


Demonstrations and events

While oral arguments were ongoing within the court house in San Francisco, protests took place outside, with both sides sharing their views. On March 2, 2009, the
California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...
passed a resolution opposing Proposition 8, saying that "the initiative is a fundamental revision to the document, not an amendment, and therefore required deliberation by the Legislature and a two-thirds vote of both houses to put it on the ballot." The
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...
passed an essentially identical resolution the same day. On May 8, a "Meet in the Middle" march and rally took place in
Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
in an effort to sway Central California voters to support same-sex marriage, because they had "voted overwhelmingly for the ban". "Day of Decision" protests or celebrations by supporters of same-sex marriage were planned for the evening of May 26, 2009, following the scheduled release of the Supreme Court decision; these events will take place across California, as well as in major cities in the United States and Canada.
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
City Attorney,
Dennis Herrera Dennis Herrera is an American attorney, currently serving as Public Utilities Commission general manager for San Francisco. Herrera was previously City Attorney of San Francisco, known for his longtime legal advocacy for same-sex marriage in Cali ...
, said that while it he was disappointed by the court's decision, it shows that the final round "could not be won in the legal arena". He vowed to fight in the ballot box in 2010. Proposition 8 supporters also planned to respond to the court ruling with public gatherings; Fresno pastor Jim Franklin, a leading opponent of same-sex marriage, opined that "if it were to go against the people, then there really should be rioting in the streets.""Prop 8 Opponents, Supporters Wait for Supreme Court Decision"
, By Amanda Perez, KFSN-Fresno/Channel 30, Monday, May 25, 2009


See also

*''
Perry v. Schwarzenegger Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...
'', a federal case challenging Proposition 8 and launched the day of the ''Strauss v. Horton'' decision * For a review of ''Strauss vs. Horton'' see: Thomas Kupka, Names and Designations in Law, in
''The Journal Jurisprudence'' 6 (2010) 121-130


References


External links


The court's ruling in ''Strauss''

Audio recording of the case


* Video of th

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss V. Horton California state case law 2008 California Proposition 8 United States same-sex union case law 2009 in California 2009 in LGBT history 2008 in United States case law 2009 in United States case law