Opponents of gay marriage on Friday
asked the California Supreme Court to reinstate Proposition 8.
According to the Los Angeles Times,
Protect Marriage, the group that sponsored the 2008 constitutional
amendment which defined marriage as a heterosexual union, argued that
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown did not have the authority to end
enforcement of Proposition 8.
Proposition 8 tumbled after the Supreme
Court ruled that interveners lacked standing to defend the law,
leaving in place a 2010 circuit court ruling declaring it
unconstitutional.
Within days after the Supreme Court
ruled, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted its stay in the
ruling, allowing same-sex marriages to resume in California.
However, Protect Marriage argues that a
provision in the California Constitution prohibits state officials
from refusing to enforce a law unless it has been deemed
unconstitutional by an appellate court.
In its filing, Protect Marriage argued
that unless the court acts, “the end result will be to allow one
federal district judge – empowered by state officials who openly
advocated for and ceded to Proposition 8's demise – to nullify a
constitutional initiative approved by more than seven million
voters.”
Protect Marriage added that retired
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker's ruling only applies to
the two counties where plaintiffs live, not the entire state.
UC Davis law professor Vikram Amar told
the paper that the California Supreme Court was likely to “stay
out of this and say the scope of Judge Walker's order is a matter for
the federal courts to determine.”