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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Hail Mary Didn’t Stop Gay Marriage in Calif.

(CN) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy verbally rejected a last-ditch bid to halt gay marriage in California, allowing hundreds of same-sex weddings to go forward over the weekend after the 9th Circuit lifted its injunction.

Gay marriage had remained illegal in the Golden State after a federal judge found the ban enacted through Proposition 8 unconstitutional because of a stay by the 9th Circuit.

After the federal appeals court dissolved that stay without explanation Friday, ProtectMarriage.com, the group that sponsored Prop. 8, argued that the move was contrary to the court's own statement that the injunction would stay in place "until final disposition by the Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court ruled last week that official proponents of California's Proposition 8 did not have standing to defend the gay marriage ban, even though state officials refused to do so. The ruling effectively legalized gay marriage in California.

Arguing that the Supreme Court's final judgment on the case would not be final for another three weeks, Protect Marriage said the 9th Circuit's lifting of the stay was 25 days premature.

"Allowing circuit courts to dissolve stays before the parties have had adequate time to assess there rights to file a petition for a rehearing would render that right illusory," according to the petition filed Saturday by the group's lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom.

Justice Kennedy rebuffed the effort Sunday, denying the motion without comment, a court spokeswoman said.

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