CA Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown Supports Federal Case Against Prop 8

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, who had gone against his job duties to dispute Proposition 8 when it went to the CA Supreme Court, has filed a brief in support of the federal case against it that is being argued by Ted Olson and David Boies on behalf of two unmarried couples in California. (Separate from other federal case rejected by DOJ.)

Despite the fact that he opposes the suit's preliminary injunction against Prop 8, which would immediately reinstate marriage rights to same-sex couples, Brown agrees with the federal case that the initiative violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause.

“Taking from same-sex couples the right to civil marriage that they had previously possessed under California’s Constitution cannot be squared with guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment,” the Attorney General’s filing states.

“Today's filing by Attorney General Jerry Brown underscores that Proposition 8 is a clear violation of the United States Constitution because it denies all people equal rights,” said Chad Griffin, Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization that hired Olson and Boies to challenge Prop 8. “We are confident that our state's chief legal officer's strong opinion will help this case move quickly through the courts so that every Californian will soon be treated equally under the law.”

Brown Answer in Perry

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