The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on
Tuesday denied a request by Proposition 8 supporters to rehear Perry
v. Brown en banc.
Proposition 8 is the 2008
voter-approved constitutional amendment which put an end to the legal
weddings of gay and lesbian couples taking place in California after
the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's law limiting marriage
to heterosexual couples is unconstitutional. Approximately 18,000
gay couples married before Proposition 8 went into effect.
The American Foundation for Equal
Rights (AFER) formed to challenge the constitutionality of the
amendment.
“BREAKING: 9th Circuit
will not rehear #prop8 case. HUGE turning point in our case for
#equality4all,” the group tweeted on Tuesday.
Last February, a 3-judge panel of the
appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling which found Prop 8 in
violation of the constitutional rights of gay couples who wish to
marry in California.
The sponsors of the ban asked the court
for an en banc review, which would expand the number of judges
reviewing the case to 11. Few such requests are granted, but the
Supreme Court often won't take a case in which petitioners have not
exhausted all of their legal options.
Supporters are most certain to appeal
the decision to the Supreme Court.