SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The lawyers who convinced a federal judge to overturn California’s gay marriage ban are asking an appeals court to allow same-sex marriages to begin next week.
Sponsors of the ban, known as Proposition 8, have appealed U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s Aug. 4 ruling that found the voter-approved law unconstitutional. They also asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block gay marriages while the appeal is pending.
The plaintiffs lawyers filed their response to that request late Friday. They argue that blocking gay marriages any further would harm same-sex couples who are being deprived of their civil rights.
Walker has ruled that gay weddings can begin next Wednesday at 5 p.m. unless the appeals court intervenes before then.
