California Supreme Court to Review Prop 8

California’s Supreme Court has agreed to review the ban and to hear legal challenges that have been “filed by groups of same-sex couples, a gay rights body and a group of local governments”.

The California Supreme Court accepted three lawsuits seeking to nullify Proposition 8, a voter-approved constitutional amendment that overruled the court’s decision in May that legalized gay marriage.

As soon as Proposition 8 passed two weeks ago—with 52 percent of the vote—three lawsuits were filed challenging the legality of the law. Among the petitioners were the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with several counties in the Bay Area and 44 members of the state Legislature. Earlier this week, Jerry Brown, the state’s attorney general, who is tasked with defending the new law, agreed with the petitioners that the case merited the court’s attention.

All three cases claim the measure abridges the civil rights of a vulnerable minority group. They argue that voters alone did not have the authority to enact such a significant constitutional change.

As is its custom when it takes up cases, the court did not elaborate on its decision.

Along with the gay rights groups and local governments petitioning to overturn the ban, the measure’s sponsors and Attorney General Jerry Brown had urged the Supreme Court to consider whether Proposition 8 passes legal muster.

The court directed Brown and lawyers for the Yes on 8 campaign to submit their arguments for why the ballot initiative should not be nullified by Dec. 19. It said lawyers for the plaintiffs, who include same-sex couples who did not wed before the election, must respond before Jan. 5. Oral arguments could be scheduled as early as March, according to court spokeswoman Lynn Holton.