FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACTS:
Elizabeth Riel 213.785.5352 or elizabeth@afer.org
Brandon Hersh 202.412.9766 or brandon@afer.org

Los Angeles, CA – Dissatisfied with their resounding defeat on June 14th in U.S. District Court, the Proposition 8 anti-marriage forces have appealed the Court’s ruling that gay and lesbian judges are,”entitled to all the presumptions about impartiality and fairness as other judges.”

Proponents of Prop. 8 had filed a motion to vacate the judgment of the District Court’s August 2010 ruling that found Prop. 8 unconstitutional.  Chief Judge James Ware rejected Proponents’ outrageous claim that gay judges are less capable of impartiality, stating that their arguments relied on “mere speculation” and “assumption.”

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., counsel for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the sole sponsor of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, said,“It is disappointing that the Proponents of Proposition 8 continue their unfounded attack on former Chief Judge Walker, and this is just the latest sign of their desperation. Chief Judge Ware correctly recognized that a gay or lesbian judge is entitled to the same presumption of fairness and impartiality as all other federal judges, not the presumption of bias urged by Proponents. We are confident that the denial of Proponents’ unfortunate motion will be affirmed.”

The Prop. 8 anti-marriage activists are also attempting to suppress the release of the videotapes of the Perry trial, because they don’t want the public to see the lack of evidence they presented in court or the fact that the trial was extremely fair.

“Desperately clinging to whatever life raft they can, the anti-marriage forces behind Prop. 8 have tried repeatedly to get our victory thrown out.  With this appeal, they have once again revealed the same animus they showed during their anti-gay political campaign to pass Prop 8,” said Chad Griffin, AFER Board President. “They will stop at nothing to deny gay and lesbian Americans the freedom to marry.”

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About the American Foundation for Equal Rights

The American Foundation for Equal Rights is the sole sponsor of the federal court challenge to Proposition 8, Perry v. Schwarzenegger. After bringing together Theodore B. Olson and David Boies to lead its legal team, AFER successfully advanced its case through federal district court and is now leading it through the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals before the case is brought to the United States Supreme Court. The Foundation is committed to achieving full federal marriage equality.