Word comes today that conservative attorney — and former Solicitor General under President Bush — Theodore Olson has teamed up with Democratic attorney David Boies to file suit in the federal court in San Francisco challenging Proposition 8 on the basis that the amendment violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection and due process.
All the previous challenges were in state court and were based on the California Constitution.
Olson told the Associated Press that he and Boies “wanted to be a symbol of the fact that this not a conservative or a liberal issue. We want to send a signal that this is an important constitutional issue involving equal rights for all Americans.â€
This happens on the same day that a coalition of LGBT advocacy groups sent out a statement warning that more lawsuits on the gay marriage issue could be more harmful than helpful right now.
I guess we have to wait and see what happens.
Oh, of course we shouldn’t be any more trouble and file lawsuits. We should just shut up and sit down in the back of the bus while the Human Rights Champaign parties on.
And well it should. We’ve never gotten anywhere we wanted to go without raising legal hell. Many gay and lesbian people just don’t understand that until we are able to be legally “married,” rather than “civil unioned” or whatever, all of the rights and privileges that come automatically with marriage will not be available to us. If civil unions were declared legal throughout the land it would take eons to get all of the local, regional and state laws rewritten in line to offer all of the privileges and benefits that come with marriage. I had to explain that to someone last night who has been in a committed relationship for 18 years. https://therarereporter.blogspot.com
I agree with Joan! Our rights are constitutionally protected and we must fight for them!