West Hollywood Mayor John Duran has
called Thursday's California Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8 a “minor
setback.”
Duran, who is openly gay, told the West
Hollywood Patch that the decision was “on the procedure
more than the substance.”
The
latest skirmish in the ongoing legal battle for gay marriage in
California found that Proposition 8 backers have legal standing to
defend the 2008 voter-approved amendment in federal court. The
ruling significantly increases the likelihood that the case will
reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gay marriage supporters on Thursday
attempted to spin the loss into a win, arguing
that the ruling puts the case back on track.
“I anticipate that we will probably
prevail,” Duran said.
“Given that 37 percent of our
population is LGBT, whenever there is a court decision, we respond,
because it affects so many of our residents,” he added. “We've
been carefully watching all of the legislation involving this.”
Over 1,000 marriage licenses were
issued to gay and lesbian couples by the city of West Hollywood in
2008 before Proposition 8 outlawed such unions.