Prop. 8: Appeals court puts ruling on hold

(08-16) 18:22 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Gay and lesbian couples must hold off on marrying at least until the end of the year, an appeals court said Monday as it froze a federal judge's decision that had struck down California's ban on same-sex weddings as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued its ruling without explanation in a short, two-page order that imposed a stay on Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's Aug. 4 decision striking down the voter-approved Proposition 8.

The appeals court granted an emergency motion for a stay made last week by the initiative's sponsors. The court's order halted preparations under way in some counties to marry same-sex couples starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, which Walker had set as the launch time for enforcement of his ruling.

The Ninth Circuit panel - Judges Edward Leavy, Michael Hawkins and Sidney Thomas - also expedited the case's appeal. During the week of Dec. 6, a separate, randomly selected three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit will take up the request by Prop. 8 proponents to throw out Walker's ruling.

Monday's decision delighted attorneys who defended Prop. 8 in front of Walker in a first-of-its-kind federal trial in January. They expressed optimism that they would ultimately prevail, either at the appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

"This is the right thing to do, and it makes things less chaotic and uncertain," said Douglas Napier, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund. "The status quo is going to be maintained until this issue is resolved."

Hearing speeded up

Napier asserted that the plaintiffs in the Prop. 8 case - two women from Berkeley and two men from Burbank - had not made any concrete plans to wed and so would not be injured by the stay.

Gay rights activists were disappointed by the stay but pleased that the appeal would be heard more quickly than they had expected.

"I think the court realized the importance of this case and expedited it," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, the state's largest gay civil rights organization. "Normally, the Ninth Circuit court takes a year and a half to decide an issue, but this one they've indicated they want done in months."

Eric Ross, 30, and his partner, Mat Wood, 35, who live in Emeryville, were among the disappointed.

"I feel like the marriage equality yo-yo," Ross said. "But to be honest, my partner and I expected another stay - we just didn't expect it to go all the way to December."

Ross said he and his partner are plunging ahead with plans for an April 2 wedding at Disneyland.

They would have picked up the license this week if it were available, Ross said, "but we are going to have the wedding whether it is legal or not. We just can't wait. The marriage license can come whenever it becomes legal."

Helen Smolinski said she and her partner are not going to hurry to the altar, "but my mother wishes we were." Smolinski, a 40-year-old San Franciscan, is seven months pregnant with twins. "It's not that we don't want to get married; we do. It's a fundamental right that gays and lesbians shouldn't be denied. We just shouldn't have to rush."

She and her partner, Blue Inquito, 41, had already decided to wait to see how the marriage case plays out in the judicial process. Now they don't have the choice.

Andrea Hyson, a 41-year-old lesbian, said she had hoped to go to San Francisco City Hall to be a witness for same-sex couples getting married there. "I personally don't see myself getting married, but I would like the choice, just like my brother and sister," said Hyson, an accountant who lives in San Francisco.

Issue of legal standing

While the Ninth Circuit judges did not give a reason for their decision, they did instruct Prop. 8 proponents to explain why they had legal standing to act in the interests of the state, which is not defending Prop. 8.