| SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Gay marriages in California could resume as early as Aug. 18 after U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker today extended a temporary stay banning the ceremonies.
Walker continued the stay into next week to give the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals time to review an appeal by supporters of Proposition 8, which seeks to have the stay made permanent through the appeals process.
Walker’s Aug. 12 decision to delay marriages was somewhat of a surprise for gay-rights activists who anticipated that the judge would lift the stay, paving the way for same-sex marriages to resume immediately. Even before the decision was handed down midday, gay couples were already lined up outside San Francisco’s City Hall in hopes they could be married.
Same-sex marriage supporters expected Walker to lift the stay since the judge ruled a week earlier that voters violated the U.S. Constitution by approving a statewide amendment declaring marriage as only valid between one man and one woman.
After overturning the state amendment on Aug. 4, Walker issued a temporary stay blocking the marriages until both sides could present arguments on whether a stay was needed while the case is appealed through the federal court system. Both sides have vowed to appeal the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the final arbiter of federal constitutional law. The next step would be a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit court.
If upheld by the appeals court, Walker’s decision to lift the stay next week paves the way for a second round of same-sex marriages in California. In May 2008, the California Supreme Court, in a separate case, ordered that same-sex marriages be allowed even though Proposition 8 had already qualified for the November 2008 ballot. Supporters of the measure sought a temporary restraining order then saying that California voters had a right to be heard on the matter before gay marriages were allowed. The court refused. Undeterred, voters approved the constitutional amendment on Nov. 4 by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. The marriages ceased the following day, ending a six-month window of gay marriage.
That same day, several state lawsuits were filed on behalf of gay and lesbian couples seeking to overturn the new law. In May 2009, the issue became a federal matter when former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and former Al Gore attorney David Boies filed the lawsuit, which was heard by Walker.
Supporters of Proposition 8 said if the appeals court does not issue its own stay, it expects the case could be expedited meaning a decision could come as early as next year. If it issues a stay, the process could take a little longer.
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