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Conservatives vow to fight Prop. 8 ruling, citing threat to gay marriage bans nationwide

Within moments of a federal judge striking down California's same-sex marriage ban Wednesday, religious conservatives vowed to fight the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, saying the decision threatens gay marriage bans nationwide.

"This lawsuit, should it be upheld on appeal and in the Supreme Court, would become the 'Roe v. Wade' of same-sex 'marriage,' " said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, referring to the 1973 decision that legalized abortion.

Perkins and other conservatives said the ruling, which found California's gay marriage ban unconstitutional, would overturn marriage bans adopted by dozens of states if it is upheld.

Perkins told CNN he will work to make the ruling an issue in this fall's midterm elections. "This is the age of the Tea Party, where you have people saying government is not listening," Perkins told CNN. "And here you have a judge saying seven million people (who supported California's Proposition 8 ) don't matter."

Some conservatives began calling for a renewed push to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, an effort that was largely abandoned after it failed during President George W. Bush's administration.

"Many senators who voted against the federal marriage amendment the last time it came up said publicly if a federal court interfered with a state's right to determine this issue, they would then be willing to vote for a federal marriage amendment," said Richard Land, who heads public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to vote."

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday that California's Proposition 8, which passed via a 2008 ballot initiative, violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. The case is now expected to go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The decision marks the first time a federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the right of same-sex couples to marry, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Though they denounced the decision, conservatives said they anticipated it and had been planning their next legal and political steps for months.

"We have a strong team of attorneys and they knew we were not only arguing this before a single judge, we were planning an argument that would go through the 9th Circuit and the Supreme Court and they made decisions based on that," said Ron Prentice, chairman of the executive committee of ProtectMarriage.com, a California-based coalition.

"This is round one of what we knew would be a multi-round battle," Prentice said.

Beyond challenging Wednesday's ruling in court, conservative activists said they will try to hammer home the message that the final Proposition 8 ruling will determine the constitutionality of other state bans on gay marriage.

"A lot of Americans sitting back right now probably don't realize that this case involves more than California," said

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst with CitizenLink, the public policy arm of Focus on the Family. "This case is not about Prop. 8, it's about all 50 states."

A Gallup poll last May found that 44 percent of Americans support legal recognition of same-sex marriage, while 53 percent do not.

Since the late 1990s, 41 states have adopted constitutional amendments or other laws banning gay marriage, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group.

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A federal judge ruled on Thursday to allow same-sex couples to marry in California, starting on August 18, handing another big victory to supporters of gay rights in a case that both sides say will likely end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last week, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that voter-approved Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution. Walker had issued a temporary stay on his decision, which on Thursday he said he would lift.

The high-profile case is being watched closely by supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage, as many say it will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If it does, the case could result in a landmark decision on whether people in the United States are allowed to marry people of the same sex.

Same-sex marriage is legal in five U.S. states and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey. The five states are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire.

(CNN) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked a federal judge Friday to allow same-sex marriages while an appeal over the struck-down law that banned them makes its way through the courts.

Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed briefs two days after Chief U.S District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled California's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.

In his Wednesday ruling, Walker also issued a temporary stay, which stopped his decision from taking effect.

If he lifts his stay, officials in California could immediately be allowed to perform same-sex marriages again. They were able to do so, briefly, before the Proposition 8 ban passed in 2008.

"The Administration believes the public interest is best served by permitting the Court's judgment to go into effect, thereby restoring the right of same-sex couples to marry in California," read the brief from Schwarzenegger. "Doing so is consistent with California's long history of treating all people and their relationships with equal dignity and respect."

Supporters of Proposition 8 argued, prior to Walker's ruling, that same-sex marriages would be performed soon after he issued his opinion and could be complicated by rulings and appeals down the road. They asked the judge to stay his decision pending appeal.

The case goes next to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and both sides say it is sure to wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Walker could issue his decision on the stay as early as next week.

Brown, a Democrat who is running to replace Schwarzenegger, also weighed in on the controversial case.

"As this Court has concluded that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, the public interest weighs against its continued enforcement," read the brief from Brown.

Brown's opponent in the governor's race, Meg Whitman, told reporters before Walker's ruling she is against same-sex marriage but favors civil unions, according to the Associated Press. The news agency reported Whitman, a Presbyterian, has explained her vote for Proposition 8 as one of "faith and conscience."

"I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman," the AP reported Whitman said at a campaign stop in East Los Angeles.

Proposition 8 is part of a long line of seesaw rulings, court cases, debates and protests over same-sex marriage. It passed in California with some 52 percent of the vote in November 2008.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in five U.S. states -- Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and New Hampshire -- and in the District of Columbia, while civil unions are permitted in New Jersey.

Well of course they're going to push it to SCOTUS, if they shrug their shoulders and go home, they're out of the game and their followers will string them up. That's not really a surprise.

Comrade Tortoise wrote:That is the funny part. They can't. Scalia and his Familiar will never set eyes to brief because the state of CA does not want to appeal the case to the 9th circuit.

Hadrianvs wrote:It would actually be pretty funny if the case did make it to the Supreme Court. Scalia, you see, loathes poor legal arguments, and Prop 8 is being defended by one of the most incompetent string of bufoons to ever appear before court on a Constitutional matter. While it is likely that Scalia would vote to uphold Prop 8, there'd be an epic tongue lashing directed at its defenders beforehand.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has blocked same-sex marriage in California, until it hears broader questions over the constitutionality of such marriages. The brief order from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals set aside a federal judge's decision last month permitting same-sex marriages to resume.

General Havoc wrote:What buffoons are these? I know little of the legal arguments around Prop 8