For Immediate Release

Contact: President Brad Dacus (916) 857-6900

San Francisco, CA - The California Supreme Court has just issued a brief in response to several lawsuits challenging Proposition 8.

The Court denied requests to stay enforcement of Prop. 8, meaning that the voters' rejection of gay marriage will stand--at least for a few months. The Court has now requested briefing on three issues: whether Prop. 8 is a "revision" of the state constitution which cannot be achieved through the initiative process; whether Prop. 8 violates the "separation of powers;" and what effect Prop. 8 would have, if it is upheld, on the gay weddings performed before its adoption. The Court has asked for briefing from Attorney General Jerry Brown and the official proponents of Prop. 8 by December 19, with amicus briefs due on January 15. The Court will hear oral arguments sometime in early 2009.

Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) was one of the first organizations to oppose the petitions requesting that Prop. 8 be invalidated and focused its initial briefs on defeating the requests for an immediate stay. PJI will file further briefings with the Court in the coming months explaining why Prop. 8 should be upheld. Brad Dacus, president of PJI, commented, "We are pleased that the Court has taken this initial step to safeguard the will of the people, but we must continue to fight for Prop. 8 until its legality is fully and finally acknowledged by the Court."