OUR MAN IN WASHINGTON

White House Files Amicus Brief Asking SCOTUS To Overturn Prop 8

barack obamaThe Obama administration filed a brief today asking the Supreme Court to support the rights of gay couples in California get married by ruling Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile friend-of-the-court filings supporting marriage equality, including one from more than 100 Republicans, and another by Fortune 500 corporations.

Last weekend, the administration filed a brief in United States v. Windsor, the other marriage-equality case coming before the Supreme Court

According to CNN:

The administration is not a party in the California appeal and not required to weigh in, but it decided to file an amicus or “friend of the court” brief. The key question for Obama was whether he would stop short of a vigorous endorsement of the constitutional right.

It is rare for a president to be personally involved in the legal and political considerations in a high court appeal, and sources say he spent a good deal of time reading up on the issue and articulating his views privately.

Much of the legal reasoning in any government brief would reflect in large part his personal thinking, gained from his years as a former constitutional law professor.

Today is the final day briefs can be filed for either case. The justices will begin hearing arguments in the Proposition 8 case March 26, with a ruling due by the end of June.

Yep, that’s right—we could be looking at a major marriage-equality victory just in time for Pride Sunday.

 

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