Prop 8 update: response to appeal

The Prop 8 federal case is now in the appeal stage. The Bad Guys and their friends have filed appeals and amicus briefs that explain accuse Judge Walker of bias, reiterate the same old arguments they tried before, and throw in a few new ones (including spurious, fact-free claims). They try to introduce new evidence not presented at trial. They also have to explain why they have standing to appeal, in the absence of any state interest in defending Prop8. (There's a related appeal by Imperial County claiming that it should represent the state in defending Prop8 because they issue marriage licenses. Imperial County voted against us by about 70% and are represented by a Christianist legal group, the Advocates for Faith and Freedom.)

Our side has just submitted their rebuttal of the appeal. The response and more info are at the ever-helpful Prop8 trial tracker.

What can the Supreme Court mean when it says that our Constitution "neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens," if a majority can so stigmatize a small, visible, and vulnerable minority and in the process cause such wrenching anguish? The American promise--and dream-- of equality surely means at a minimum that the government, before "drawing a line around" some segment of its citizenry and designating them unworthy of something as important and socially meaningful as the institution of marriage, must have a legitimate and factually tenable rationale for doing so. Proposition 8 fails even at this most basic level of scrutiny. It advances no legitimate purpose.