The Prop 8 Federal Case: Can It End CA's Gay Marriage Ban?

The first hearing of the federal case against Prop 8, by Ted Olson and David Boies, assigned to Judge Vaughn Walker, begins July 2 in the North California U.S. District Court.

Olson and Boies boast strong records of victories in their past cases. For this case, they requested a preliminary injunction opposing the initiative during the time the court would be hearing their case. If the injunction had been granted then during the time of the trial Prop 8 would not be enforced in California, thus temporarily allowing same-sex couples to marry again.

The July 2 hearing would have focused on the injunction’s merits, but Judge Walker recently called a move to go quickly to trial. “Given that serious questions are raised in these proceedings ... the court is inclined to proceed directly and expeditiously to the merits of plaintiffs' claims," the judge declared. “The just, speedy and inexpensive determination of these issues would appear to call for proceeding promptly to trial."

This seems to be a good sign. The judge’s order demands the trial begin as soon as possible, as the injunction arguments reflect those to overturn Prop 8 as a whole. The injunction would be a temporary fix to a problem that could be solved right away, but delaying the permanent solution in doing so.

“We are encouraged that the judge wants to dispense with the preliminaries and move quickly toward a final ruling on the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8," Olson said in a press release. "This case is about protecting people's fundamental Constitutional rights, and we agree that it is in everyone's best interest to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. We are prepared to move forward at as fast a pace as the court desires.”

This case presents the possibility of Prop 8 being history in the near future, although that is the result of the best circumstances. In order to better understand all the various factors that could potentially influence the fate of gay marriage in California, a good friend of mine, and fellow gay rights activist and blogger, Phillip Minton of Unite The Fight went directly to those involved with the case to clarify possible outcomes and ramifications involved.

How the Case Started

Chad Griffin, who is openly gay, started in politics over 10 years ago being the youngest presidential West Wing staff member, and now has his own political and communications strategy firm called Griffin Schake. His reaction on election day mirrors those of millions of LGBT nationally. “I’m a political strategist – I was devastated like everyone – such a bittersweet experience with Obama becoming president while the banning of gay marriage in California and gay adoption in my home state of Arkansas passed. It was very difficult to celebrate.”

Only a few hours later, he joined forces with some politically progressive friends including director Rob Reiner, producer Bruce Cohen, and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to start discussions on what would come next.

"We're in a war, and we discussed where we could take the war. If you have a single goal in winning that war, you want to have the opposition on the defensive on all fronts," Griffin explained. At the end of their discussion, all agreed the next move needed to be powerful, and that needed to be a federal case challenging Prop 8.

Also joined by his business partner Kristin Schake, the group founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), of which the sole purpose is support of the federal case. Shortly after being founded, board members were announced, but who would fight the case needed to be decided.

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