Obama urges court to overturn gay marriage ban
A man walked past a group of people protesting against gay marriage outside a courtroom where the California Supreme Court was hearing arguments in San Francisco on Sept. 6, 2011. The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country.
WASHINGTON » The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage and turn a skeptical eye on similar prohibitions across the country.
The administration says unequivocally in a legal brief filed late today that gay marriage should be allowed to resume in California, where it has been barred since the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008.
It does not explicitly call for marriage equality across the United States but points the court in that direction.
More immediately, the administration’s position, if adopted by the court, probably would result in gay marriage becoming legal in seven other states that, like California, give gay couples all the benefits of marriage, but don’t allow them to wed.
They are: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.
