PROP 8 PROPONENTS ASK NINTH CIRCUIT TO PROTECT THE VOTES OF SEVEN MILLION CALIFORNIANS FOR TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE
SACRAMENTO: The following statement can be attributed to Andy Pugno, general counsel for ProtectMarriage.com, the official proponents of Proposition 8, in response to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s refusal to stay his judgment invalidating Prop 8 pending appeals:
“A week after cruelly accusing California voters of being "irrational" when they passed Prop 8, today Judge Walker continued to show disregard for the will of the people by nullifying their votes and pushing forward to allow same-sex marriage even before an appeal can be heard.
“Judge Walker's decision invalidating Prop 8 is just the first step in a much longer journey to the U.S. Supreme Court. Throwing out the voters' passage of Prop 8 this early in the legal process shows the court is determined to impose same-sex marriage on California, whether we like it or not.
“We are immediately asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal for an emergency stay, to preserve the status quo until the appellate courts have had a proper opportunity to examine the constitutionality of Proposition 8.
“We remain confident that the trial court record we built, which was based on facts of law rather than the emotion-based opinion of our opponents, will help us ultimately prevail on appeal and reverse Walker’s initial ruling.”