STATEMENT OF CHARLES J. COOPER IN RESPONSE TO JUDGE WALKER'S REFUSAL TO STAY THE RULING IN PERRY V. SCHWARZNEGGER
SACRAMENTO: The following statement can be attributed to Charles J. Cooper, lead counsel for the official proponent of Proposition 8, in response to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s refusal to permanently stay his August 4, 2010 decision in the Perry v Schwarzenegger case:
“We are gratified that Judge Walker has continued until August 18th the temporary stay of his decision. We will promptly seek from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals a stay pending the final resolution of the case. On appeal, we look forward with confidence to a decision vindicating the democratic process and the basic constitutional authority of the 7 million Californians who voted to retain the traditional definition of marriage. The decision whether to redefine the institution of marriage is for the people themselves to make, not a single district court judge, especially without appellate scrutiny.”