The California Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will hold a hearing in September to resolve arguments surrounding the state’s current ban on same-sex marriage under Proposition 8.
On September 6, 2011, the court will take on the question of whether or not ballot initiative sponsors are justified in their attempts to fight court rulings in the face of gubernatorial and attorney general objections to the appeal.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the September hearing will likely prove decisive in the state’s drawn-out debate over marriage equality. Previously, both former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to challenge the court’s ruling finding Proposition 8’s ban on gay marriage to be in direct violation of LGBT Californians’ civil rights. Proponents of the ban appealed the ruling, but have been barred from further action pending the court’s decision as to the legality of such an appeal.
The California Court of Appeals requested the Supreme Court’s input in order to determine the proper interpretation of state law in this case. September’s hearing will provide an opportunity for judges to offer that interpretation, and move forward with a decisive ruling on gay marriage within the state of California.
