Reaction to Maine Same Sex Marriage Vote From Federal Court Challengers to California's Proposition 8

Reaction to Maine Same Sex Marriage Vote From Federal Court Challengers to
California's Proposition 8
Statement from Chad Griffin, Board President of American Foundation for Equal
Rights, which is Leading the Challenge to Prop. 8 Being Argued by Attorneys
Theodore Olson and David Boies

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Chad Griffin, Board President of the
American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is leading the federal court
challenge to California's Proposition 8 being argued by attorneys Theodore
Olson and David Boies, made the following statement today in response to the
results of the Maine election on same sex marriage:

"Our founding fathers did not intend for people's Constitutional rights to be
determined by political campaigns. The results in Maine underscore exactly why
we are challenging California's same sex marriage ban in federal court. When
the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia, more than 70 percent of
Americans disapproved of interracial marriage. The U.S. Constitution
guarantees equal rights to every American, and when those rights are violated,
it is the role of our courts to protect us, regardless of what the polls say."

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ended race-based restrictions on marriage with
its ruling in the Loving v. Virginia case.

Proposition 8 eliminated Californians' right to same sex marriage and was
passed on the November 2008 ballot.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights' case against Proposition 8 is
scheduled for trial in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of
California in San Francisco on January 11. The plaintiffs in the case are two
same-sex couples -- Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry & Sandy Stier
-- who wish to be married but, because of Proposition 8, have been denied
marriage licenses.

"This unequal treatment of gays and lesbians denies them the basic liberties
and equal protection under the law that are guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment of the United States Constitution," their suit states.

According to the suit, Proposition 8:
-- Violates the Due Process Clause by impinging on fundamental liberties.
-- Violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
-- Singles out gays and lesbians for a disfavored legal status, thereby
creating a category of "second-class citizens."
-- Discriminates on the basis of gender.

-- Discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.

"More than 30 years ago, the United States Supreme Court recognized that
marriage is one of the basic rights of man," their suit states, referring to
the Court's decision in Loving v. Virginia.

SOURCE American Foundation for Equal Rights

Yusef Robb of American Foundation for Equal Rights, +1-323-384-1789,
yusef@equalrightsfoundation.org