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Prop. 8 campaign committee facing fines
California's anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 campaign committee is facing $49,000 in fines for its handling and reporting of political contributions.
The enforcement staff of the state Fair Political Practices Commission has proposed the fines on 18 counts against ProtectMarriage.com -- Yes on 8....
Mercury News • Aug 7, 2012
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Proposition 8 case headed to U.S. Supreme Court
In a brief order Tuesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider a ruling earlier this year that struck down Proposition 8, finding the 2008 law unconstitutional because it stripped gay and lesbian couples of the right to marry. The appeals court denied a request from Proposition 8 backers to rehear the case with a special 11-judge panel.
Same-sex couples will not be allowed t...
Mercury News • Jun 5, 2012
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Judge strikes down Defense of Marriage Act provision in California employees' case
Wilken said the DOMA ban violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment. She wrote that there was no proof the DOMA provision was "rationally related to a legitimate government interest."
Thursday's decision makes Wilken the second trial judge in the U.S. District Court for Northern California to strike down that section of the 1996 law....
Mercury News • May 25, 2012
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Republican group appeals ruling striking down federal gay marriage ban
In court papers, a group of congressional Republicans defending the federal gay marriage ban revealed they are appealing the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 9th Circuit will become the second federal appeals court to now consider the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 16-year-old law known as DOMA.
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Mercury News • Feb 24, 2012
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Prop 8 repeal cleared for signature-gathering
A gay rights group that wants to repeal the state constitutional amendment that stripped same-sex couples in California of the right to get married received clearance Friday to start gathering signatures for a measure that would rescind the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8.
Los Angeles-based Love Honor Cherish has until May 14 to collect the 807,615 voter signatures required to qualify its ...
Mercury News • Dec 19, 2011
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Prop 8 repeal cleared for signature-gathering
A gay rights group that wants to repeal the state constitutional amendment that stripped same-sex couples in California of the right to get married received clearance Friday to start gathering signatures for a measure that would rescind the gay marriage ban known as Proposition 8.
Los Angeles-based Love, Honor, Cherish has until May 14 to collect the 807,615 voter signatures required to qualify it...
Mercury News • Dec 17, 2011
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Bay Area couple at center of federal gay rights showdown
In late August 2008, Karen Golinski and her partner of 18 years, Amy Cunninghis, gathered with family and friends in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall and exchanged wedding vows, their young son serving as ring bearer.
But as one of the 18,000 same-sex couples who married before voters approved Proposition 8 that fall, Golinski and Cunninghis now find themselves in the midst of a legal firest...
Mercury News • Nov 28, 2011
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Prop. 8 backers seek delay in trial video release
The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage want a federal judge in San Francisco to put the brakes on unsealing video recordings of last year's high-profile trial on the constitutionality of voter-approved Proposition 8....
Mercury News • Sep 24, 2011
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Judge rejects bid to set aside Proposition 8 ruling
A federal judge's long-term same-sex relationship did not mean he would be biased in handling the legal challenge to Proposition 8 and does not justify wiping out his ruling invalidating California's ban on gay marriage, the Bay Area's chief federal judge ruled Tuesday.
In his decision, Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware rejected the arguments of Proposition 8's sponsors, who maintained that fo...
Mercury News • Jun 14, 2011
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California bill would promote same-sex benefits
State agencies would be prohibited from contracting with businesses that do not provide equal benefits to their employees' same-sex spouses or domestic partners, under a bill narrowly approved by the state Senate. ...
Mercury News • May 12, 2011
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Gay marriage foes want judge to return trial tapes
The sponsors of California's same-sex marriage ban want the now-retired federal judge who declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional to surrender videotapes of the trial that led to his ruling.
Lawyers for supporters of the voter-approved ban also asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to prohibit former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker from playing the recordings for anyone...
Mercury News • Apr 14, 2011
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California Supreme Court jumps back into gay marriage fray
In the order asking the Supreme Court to review the issue, the 9th Circuit wrote: "Although the governor has chosen not to defend Proposition 8 in these proceedings, it is not clear whether he may, consistent with the California constitution, achieve through a refusal to litigate what he may not do directly: effectively veto the initiative by refusing to defend or appeal a judgment invalidating it...
Mercury News • Feb 17, 2011
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Proposition 8 panel a blend of federal judges from different backgrounds
The three-judge panel that will hear arguments next week in the legal battle over California's ban on same-sex marriage is an eclectic blend that covers the ideological spectrum of the sprawling 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
At first blush, the panel would appear to favor lawyers representing same-sex couples fighting to invalidate Proposition 8, which forbids gay marriage in California. Jud...
Mercury News • Nov 30, 2010
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Lawyers may move to recover Prop. 8 court costs
In papers filed Tuesday, attorneys for two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco asked the court to extend a deadline for seeking reimbursement from the losing side. In this case, that would be the groups that put the ban on the 2008 ballot.
Sponsors of Proposition 8 defended the ban in court after California's governor and attorney general refused to.
Lawyers familiar with scope of the...
Mercury News • Aug 19, 2010
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Federal judge in Prop. 8 case an unpredictable iconoclast
San Francisco's powerful civil rights organizations and Democratic leadership greeted Walker's nomination with howls of protest. They branded him hostile and "insensitive" to gay and lesbian rights because of his representation of the U.S. Olympic Committee in a lawsuit against the Gay Olympics over the use of the Olympics brand. The protests continued unabated for two years before Walker was fina...
Mercury News • Aug 6, 2010
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Court ruling on federal law advances same-sex marriage
In Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the judge held that the act's divergent treatment of same-sex and heterosexual couples violates the equal protection principles implicit in the Fifth Amendment. The court asked whether Congress had a legitimate basis for treating same-sex couples differently. The unambiguous answer was "No."
How about procreation? No. Infertile persons are permitted to m...
Mercury News • Jul 22, 2010
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'Til death do us part? Ballot measure banning divorce clears hurdle
John Marcotte had a revelation after he voted against Proposition 8, the 2008 California initiative that banned same-sex marriage -- in part, its backers said, to preserve traditional marriage.
If saving traditional marriage was the aim, then there has to be a better way, thought the Sacramento father of two. "Don't stop gay people from getting married; stop straight people from getting divorced!...
Mercury News • Jul 20, 2010
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Media groups seek to televise final stage of Prop. 8 trial
In a letter filed Tuesday, media groups urged Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to allow televising of the proceedings, tentatively scheduled for June 16. The closing arguments are the final stage in the trial before Walker rules on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which voters approved to forbid same-sex couples from marrying....
Mercury News • May 19, 2010
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Prop 8 sponsors ask judge to strike trial evidence
Lawyers for the group Protect Marriage told Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in court papers filed Friday that allowing the documents to remain in the trial record would violate the First Amendment freedom of association rights of the measure's supporters....
Mercury News • Apr 25, 2010
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Gay marriage foes attack Calif. GOP Senate hopeful
U.S. Senate candidate Tom Campbell's support of same-sex marriages came under attack Monday in a statewide television ad funded by a national group that promotes traditional marriage.
Like Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer, Campbell opposed Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California.
The 30-second commercials are funded by the National Organization for Marr...
Mercury News • Mar 16, 2010
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Court: Calif gay groups must share Prop 8 memos
Spero says Equality California, Californians Against Eliminating Basic Rights, an ACLU campaign committee and an umbrella group that oversaw the campaign against the ban must hand over all documents "that contain, refer or relate to arguments for or against Proposition 8," with the exception private communications between their core leaders....
Mercury News • Mar 6, 2010
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First week of Proposition 8 trial ends with defense challenging witnesses
The trial resumes Tuesday with a lineup of witnesses likely to include controversial Proposition 8 proponent William Tam and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, a Republican former police chief who switched positions and came out in favor of same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs say they will rest their case Wednesday....
Mercury News • Jan 16, 2010
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Judge approves delayed YouTube video of trial in Prop. 8 challenge
Walker rejected the arguments of Proposition 8's defenders, who opposed any broadcast of the proceedings outside the San Francisco federal building. It was not clear from Walker's remarks how long the delay would be for the video to be posted on the Internet....
Mercury News • Jan 6, 2010
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Prop. 8 backers seek to bump AG Brown to other side of same-sex marriage legal fight
Same-sex marriage opponents have asked a federal judge to shift Attorney General Jerry Brown to the plaintiffs' side of a lawsuit challenging Proposition 8, arguing that his refusal to defend the law makes him an adversary in the legal fight....
Mercury News • Oct 6, 2009
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Gay marriage supporters tangle over legal strategy
In court papers filed Aug. 7, lawyers for the two same-sex couples suing to block Proposition 8 asked Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to bar the American Civil Liberties Union, Lamba Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights from being parties to the lawsuit. San Francisco city officials also are trying to intervene, but the plaintiffs appear neutral on whether they should be allowe...
Mercury News • Aug 17, 2009
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San Francisco federal judge to hear latest legal challenge to Proposition 8
The latest legal challenge to California's voter-approved ban on equal marriage may be a long way from the U.S. Supreme Court, but the first step on a possible path to the high court unfolds this week before a San Francisco federal judge.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker on Thursday will consider arguments on whether to block Proposition 8, which amended the California constitution last No...
Mercury News • Jun 29, 2009
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Census study of gay married couples finds similarities to husband-and-wife couples
Marriage -- whether you are gay or straight -- may be the great common denominator among American households, according to a new government study that offers a first-ever look at the nation's same-sex couples who say they are spouses.
Married men and women average about 50 years old, and about four in 10 have kids living at home. The average couple pulls down a little over $90,000 a year and four...
Mercury News • Jun 18, 2009
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Another equal marriage battle next year may be too soon
"The turn in 2010 is going to be markedly negative for them," said Frank Schubert, the Sacramento political consultant who ran the Yes on 8 campaign last year, and who would head a 2010 campaign to uphold Proposition 8.
Schubert predicts at least a third of the 2008 electorate, particularly those young, first-time voters who turned out to vote for Barack Obama, won't show up at the polls in 2010....
Mercury News • May 31, 2009
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Gay couple in litigation criticizes ruling
Robin Tyler says she is glad Diane Olson is still her wife but upset about the court decision.
Tyler said at a news conference in Los Angeles after Tuesday's ruling that she was "as upset as if our marriage had been taken away."...
Mercury News • May 26, 2009
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Hundreds pray on eve of Prop 8 ruling
Several representatives of various faiths said they were ready to get arrested in acts of civil disobedience if the court does not overturn the ban....
Mercury News • May 26, 2009
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Twice-divorced Nevada governor vetoes domestic partnership bill
Harrah's Entertainment has called for an override if Gibbons vetoed the measure.
The casino giant pointed to an estimated $700 billion in buying power among potential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers.
The bill also had support from of the powerful Nevada Resort Association, and drew praise from the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.
Gary Peck, ACLU executive in Las Vegas,...
Mercury News • May 25, 2009
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Surge in anti-gay hate crime cases
Anti-gay incidents accounted for more than half of hate-crime cases last year -- 56 percent -- a big jump from only 15 percent in 2007. There were 14 anti-gay cases out of 25 hate-crime cases in 2008, compared with only 3 out of 20 in 2007....
Mercury News • Mar 16, 2009
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Santa Cruz Mormon family's quiet struggle illustrates complexity in Prop 8 fight
"It felt like a smack in the face," said Pope, who knew her family opposed gay marriage but, at 31, didn't expect their longtime differences would get to her. "It's funny that those things still bother me, but it did."...
Mercury News • Mar 5, 2009
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Calif. lawmakers back Prop. 8 challenge
The resolution goes next to the full Assembly, and the state Senate is scheduled to consider a companion measure in coming weeks....
Mercury News • Feb 17, 2009
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Clinton urged to cancel San Diego speech
The president of the San Diego hotel workers' union and several gay rights activists published an open letter to Clinton on a Web site Thursday after his staff indicated Clinton would not bow out of the paid appearance at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel....
Mercury News • Feb 13, 2009
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Race not deciding factor in Prop. 8 vote, study shows
The Rev. Mark Wilson, of Oakland, former pastor of Berkeley's McGee Avenue Baptist Church and now outreach coordinator for the African-American activist group And Marriage for All, agreed it's time to "redouble our work with people of faith."
That means convincing people that supporting marriage equality is not at odds with their religious framework, and that to do otherwise conflicts with their ...
Mercury News • Jan 6, 2009
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The Changing Definition of Marriage in California
Marriage changed to support women's rights ... Marriage changed to support minority rights ... Will marriage change to support the rights of same-sex couples?...
Mercury News • Dec 10, 2008
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Few participated in 'call in gay' day to protest Prop 8 same-sex marriage ban
David Lang, 44, a San Francisco gymnastics coach who said he conceived of a similar idea right after the election, said he thinks a coordinated job action would have been more successful if organizers had enlisted support from sympathetic employers, labor groups and industries....
Mercury News • Dec 10, 2008
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Gay rights from Milk to Proposition 8 '" From out of the closet to same-sex marriage
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Mercury News • Nov 26, 2008
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County Board of Supervisors votes to join San Francisco lawsuit againt Proposition 8
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Mercury News • Nov 18, 2008
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Prop. 8 battle enters new stage
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Mercury News • Nov 18, 2008
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Editorial: Supervisors' secret meeting on Prop. 8 lawsuit doesn't help cause
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Mercury News • Nov 17, 2008
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Campbell councilman reports threats of recall about Prop. 8 position
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Mercury News • Nov 14, 2008
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Lesbian mom asked to quit PTA over Prop. 8
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Mercury News • Nov 13, 2008
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Protests, boycotts erupt in the wake of Prop. 8's passage
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Mercury News • Nov 13, 2008
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