Sacramento, Calif., Jul 1, 2009 / 16:02 pm
The U.S. District Court has agreed to allow ProtectMarriage.com to defend Proposition 8 in a lawsuit, after the state's Attorney General, Jerry Brown, refused to do so. The ruling will allow the coalition to defend the successful California initiative from last November that restored marriage to being only between a man and a woman in the state constitution.
Andrew Pugno, general counsel for ProtectMarriage.com, has said that he is “pleased that the court will allow us to defend marriage and the will of the people against challenges to the voter-approved measure.”
“This decision will give the official proponents of Proposition 8 a full seat at the table in this litigation,” Pugno told CNA, observing that the coalition will now have the same rights and powers as the other participants in the case.
In its decision, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California noted that California Attorney General Brown was not defending the law, claiming that the voter-approved proposition was unconstitutional, despite the ruling of the California Supreme Court last May, which upheld the constitutionality of the proposition.