The following statement about the hearing in California Supreme Court on the Perry v. Brown case can be attributed to Brain Raum, Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund, co-counsel for ProtectMarriage.com.
“Proposition 8 is a duly enacted law of the State of California, having been placed rigidly within the four corners of the California Constitution by over seven million Californians. As we will recall, the vote on Proposition 8 involved an unprecedented turnout and occurred after months of public debate and an $80 million campaign. The voters of California understood well the issues and what they were doing with Proposition 8’s enactment.
“Upon its enactment in 2008, three separate lawsuits were filed in the California Supreme Court to challenge Proposition 8. When the attorney general and governor refused to defend Proposition 8, its official proponents intervened to defend it. The California Supreme Court not only embraced intervention by the official proponents, but never once questioned their right to defend the California Constitution especially when state officials’ refused to do so. In their history, neither the California Supreme Court, nor the Courts of Appeal, has ever questioned the right of official proponents to intervene and defend their enacted propositions.
“When this case was initiated in federal court, the attorney general and governor again refused to defend the California Constitution. Yet, the people deserved to have their Constitution vigorously defended. The official proponents of Proposition 8 again intervened and both the attorney general and district court acknowledged that the official proponents possessed an inexorable right to defend this initiative.
“It is neither extraordinary nor unprecedented that the 9th Circuit has asked the California Supreme Court to affirm the direct legal interests of the official proponents. At stake is the people’s fundamental right to exercise rightful control over their government through the initiative process. Politicians should not be allowed to nullify a democratic act of the people by refusing to defend it. The people of California have a right to be defended, so the official proponents must be permitted to continue to defend that law throughout the appeal process. Otherwise, state officials will succeed in indirectly invalidating a measure that they had no power to strike down directly.
“California Courts have so well understood the concept that all political power is inherent in the people that they have routinely recognized the legal interests of official proponents to defend initiatives in court. This principle and practice is so ingrained into the fabric of California’s jurisprudence that scarcely was there a need to inscribe their existence.
“We appreciate the time and attention that the California Supreme Court is obviously giving to this important matter and look forward to their opinion affirming the interests that official proponents have in defending their initiatives.”