Defenders of Calif. marriage amendment will appeal judge’s decision on motion for stay

SAN FRANCISCO — The Alliance Defense Fund is issuing the following statement regarding a federal judge’s decision Thursday to deny a motion filed by the ProtectMarriage.com legal team to stay the Aug. 4 decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.  His order does not go into effect until Aug. 18.  The appeal of his order was filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

ADF Litigation Staff Counsel Jim Campbell:

“The Protectmarriage.com legal team will appeal immediately to the 9th Circuit to stay the trial court’s decision until this case is concluded. This case has just begun, and ADF and the rest of the legal team are confident that the right of Americans to protect marriage in their state constitutions will ultimately be upheld. It makes no sense to impose a radical change in marriage on the people of California before all appeals on their behalf are heard. If the trial court’s decision is eventually reversed, refusing to stay the decision will senselessly create legal uncertainty surrounding any same-sex unions entered while the appeal is pending.”

ProtectMarriage.com lead counsel Charles Cooper:

“We are gratified that Judge Walker has continued until Aug. 18 the temporary stay of his decision. We will promptly seek from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals a stay pending the final resolution of the case. On appeal, we look forward with confidence to a decision vindicating the democratic process and the basic constitutional authority of the 7 million Californians who voted to retain the traditional definition of marriage. The decision whether to redefine marriage is for the people themselves to make, not a single district court judge, especially without appellate scrutiny.”

ProtectMarriage.com General Counsel Andrew Pugno:

“A week after cruelly accusing California voters of being 'irrational' when they passed Prop. 8, today Judge Walker continued to show disregard for the will of the people by nullifying their votes and pushing forward to allow same-sex 'marriage' even before an appeal can be heard. Judge Walker's decision invalidating Prop. 8 is just the first step in a much longer journey to the U.S. Supreme Court. Throwing out the voters' passage of Prop. 8 this early in the legal process shows the court is determined to impose same-sex 'marriage' on California, whether we like it or not. We are immediately asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal for an emergency stay to preserve the status quo until the appellate courts have had a proper opportunity to examine the constitutionality of Proposition 8. We remain confident that the trial court record we built, which was based on facts of law rather than the emotion-based opinion of our opponents, will help us ultimately prevail on appeal and reverse Judge Walker’s initial ruling.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.