WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Obama administration has formally expressed its support of same sex marriage in California.
It said in a legal brief on Thursday that gay and lesbian couples there have the same “equal protection” rights to wed, and that voters in the state were wrong to ban it, according to an administration official.
An appeal in the so-called Proposition 8 case will be formally filed later on Thursday with the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear the issue in March.
That case and another appeal over the federal Defense of Marriage Act will produce blockbuster rulings from the justices in coming months.
Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the Courage Campaign, an organization that has been leading the charge to end Prop. 8 made the following statement:
“We applaud President Obama for standing up for millions of Californians who simply want to marry the person they love. The two Supreme Court cases this summer will be a watershed moment for equality and President Obama has put his Administration squarely on the right side of history. Last November, voters from Maine to Washington stood up for equality. Now it’s time for the Supreme Court to catch up with the American public. Discrimination and hatred have no place in a country founded on the principles of liberty, justice and equality.”
