The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
has agreed to allow C-SPAN to broadcast the December 6 oral arguments
in the appeal of California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8, the
Los Angeles Times reported.
The law's sponsor, ProtectMarriage.com,
is appealing U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker's August ruling
that declared the ban unconstitutional.
The hearing's first hour will examine
whether ProtectMarriage.com and Imperial County have legal authority,
or standing, to appeal Walker's ruling. The groups intervened in the
case after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and governor-elect Jerry
Brown, as attorney general, refused to defend the law in court. In
his ruling, Walker said he doubted the group's legal standing because
they are not directly affected by the law.
The second hour will examine whether
Proposition 8 violates the equal protection rights of gay and lesbian
couples.
The 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.
The court's ruling is not expected to
end the debate. Both sides have said they believe the case will
reach the Supreme Court.