Thirty-one social conservative groups
have joined the fight to keep California's gay marriage ban,
Proposition 8.
The groups have united against an
August ruling that declared the ban unconstitutional and is being
appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by its sponsor,
ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition of social conservative groups that
includes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the
Mormons), the California Catholic Conference and various evangelical
churches.
In
the amicus brief filed Thursday, the groups argue that
“initiatives promote the will of the people better than government
solely by the elite.”
“The people may be wrong, as they
often are,” the brief says. “The courts, too, may be wrong, as
they often are. But this we know: Twice in eight years the people of
California declared they want to keep marriage as it has been for
time immemorial.”
Signing onto the brief are the Liberty
Institute, Association of Maryland Families, California Family
Council, Center for Arizona Policy, Citizens for Community Values,
Cornerstone Action, Cornerstone Family Council, Delaware Family
Policy Council, Family Action Council of Tennessee, the Family
Foundation, the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, Family Policy
Institute of Washington, Florida Family Policy Council, Georgia
Family Council, Illinois Family Institute, Independence Law Center,
Iowa Family Policy Center, Louisiana Family Forum Action,
Massachusetts Family Institute, Michigan Family Forum, Minnesota
Family Council, Missouri Family Policy Council, Montana Family
Foundation, New Jersey Family First, New Jersey Family Policy
Council, North Carolina Family Policy Council, Oklahoma Family Policy
Council, Oregon Family Council, Palmetto Family Council, Pennsylvania
Family Institute, Wisconsin Family Action and WyWatch Family Action.
Proposition 8 was approved by a narrow
majority of Californians in 2008. Passage put an end to the gay
weddings taking place in the state after the California Supreme Court
legalized the institution.
The case of Perry vs. Schwarzenegger
is the first to challenge the constitutionality of a gay marriage
ban. Plaintiffs – a gay couple and a lesbian couple who wish to
marry – are being represented by the American Foundation for Equal
Rights (AFER), a group formed to support the case. A
recent New York City fundraiser hosted by former RNC Chair Ken
Mehlman netted $1.2 million for the case.
In a separate brief, ten
states have united in support of the ban.