Backers of Proposition 8 said on
Tuesday that they would appeal a federal appeals court decision to
the Supreme Court.
“The 9th Circuit's
decision to deny an en banc hearing comes as no surprise,” tweeted
ProtectMarriage, the group which sponsored the 2008 voter-approved
amendment. “We will promptly file our appeal to the US Supreme
Court.”
“We look forward to a positive
outcome on behalf of millions of Californians who believe in
traditional marriage.”
The reaction came within hours of the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' announcement that it would not rehear
Perry v. Brown, the case
challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.
The measure 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.
In 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.
(Related: Gay
groups cheer federal appeals court's decision to not revisit Prop 8
case.)