Lawyers arguing in favor of
California's gay marriage ban have asked a federal judge to revoke
state recognition of 18,000 gay marriages, the San Francisco
Chronicle reported.
The request was made by lawyers
representing ProtectMarriage.com, the primary sponsor of Proposition
8, California's gay marriage ban approved by voters in November 2008,
in the first federal trial to consider the constitutionality of a gay
marriage ban. Passage of the measure trumped a state Supreme Court
ruling legalizing gay marriage in the state. About 18,000 gay and
lesbian couples wed during the May-to-November window when the
institution was legal.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker
will hear closing arguments in a San Francisco courtroom Wednesday.
The hearing, which is scheduled to last the whole day, begins at
10AM.
In their final written filing submitted
Tuesday, backers of Proposition 8 asked Walker to revoke state
recognition of all gay marriages, saying such an order would honor
“the expressed will of the people.”
The trial concluded after
two-and-a-half weeks' worth of testimony in January, but Walker said
he wanted to review the evidence before listening to closing
arguments.
Last week, Walker asked both legal
teams to answer remaining questions.
During the trial, lawyers opposed to
Proposition 8 argued that proponents had approved the measure out of
animus towards gay men and lesbians, stripping such couples of their
constitutional rights.
But backers of the gay ban argued
Tuesday that “moral disapproval of homosexual conduct is not
tantamount to animus, bigotry or discrimination.”
“On the contrary,” said Charles
Cooper, chief counsel for ProtectMarriage.com, “religions that
condemn homosexual conduct also teach love of gays and lesbians.”
On Friday, Walker denied a motion to
strike from evidence emails from religious groups involved in the Yes
on 8 campaign, primarily members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) and the Roman Catholic church.
Mormon officials continue to deny they directly supported passage of
the measure.
Walker could decide to overturn the gay
marriage ban and allow gay couples to begin marrying in California
immediately. But such a ruling would likely be quickly appealed to
the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In fact, both parties have
suggested the trial is the opening act in a road show headed to the
Supreme Court.