California Attorney General Jerry Brown Asks Judge to Resume Gay California Attorney General Jerry Brown Asks Judge to Resume Gay Marriages

Two days after a federal judge struck down California's ban on gay marriage, state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown is asking him to allow same-sex unions to resume immediately.

Brown told U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker that his decision Wednesday to overturn Proposition 8 is likely to be upheld by higher courts, The Los Angeles Times reported.
"And while there is still the potential for limited administrative burdens should future marriages of same-sex couples be later declared invalid, these potential burdens are outweighed by this court's conclusion, based on the overwhelming evidence, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional," said Brown, a candidate for California's governor.

Walker did not immediately respond to Brown's motion.

Wednesday, Walker agreed to block gay marriages from starting again right away until he can consider arguments on whether to keep the ban in place while the appeal is made.

The case would go first to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and eventually to the Supreme Court, if the justices agreed to review it.
Proposition 8 was approved by 52 percent of voters in November 2008. The ballot measure followed the state Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage five months earlier. Supporters said Prop 8 was necessary to safeguard traditional marriage and to encourage responsible childbearing. Opponents said that such concerns were not sufficient grounds to discriminate against gay couples.