US Supreme Court Rejects Same-sex Marriage Appeal

The Los Angeles Times reported that the US Supreme Court has rejected an emergency bid to reinstate California's ban on same-sex marriage. Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., one of the lawyers for the gay couples who sued to lift the ban, said he had received word that the justice tasked with handling the petition had denied it, the newspaper said.

Boutrous did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

On Friday, California's Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the ban, imposed under the so-called Prop 8 ballot measure, with immediate effect.

Just days earlier, the nation's top court had ruled supporters of Prop 8 lacked the proper standing to appeal a lower-court judgment that declared the measure unconstitutional.

The ruling essentially allowed the original federal court ruling to stand, striking down Prop 8.

But supporters of the ban, including ProtectMarriage.com, which backed legal efforts to uphold it, said the reinstatement of same-sex marriages was too hasty.

The Ninth Circuit court should have waited until at least 25 days after the Supreme Court ruling, ProtectMarriage.com said Saturday.

It argued that the appeals court had originally promised to wait until "final disposition" before lifting its injunction on same-sex marriages.

"People on both sides of this debate should at least agree that the courts must follow their own rules," said ProtectMarriage.com coalition lawyer Andy Pugno in a statement.

"This kind of lawlessness just further weakens the public's confidence in the legitimacy of our legal system."

Supporters of Prop 8 have vowed to pursue their efforts to have the ban -- backed by 52 percent of Californians five years ago, with 48 percent against -- re-enforced.

But gay rights groups have cheered the Supreme Court ruling, as have many supporters of same-sex marriage.

"Thousands upon thousands of lives are about to change for the better, for good," said Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin said Friday.

Source-AFP