Oral arguments for California’s Proposition 8 begin later this month spark Obama support for same sex marriage

Democracy, elections, ballots, and voting

By Leah Dearborn

California’s Proposition 8 will reach the Supreme Court this month, where justices will decide whether or not to revoke the state’s 2008 ban on same sex marriage. A formal ruling is due the last week of June. The Obama administration filed an unexpected legal brief last Thursday urging the court to overturn Prop. 8. CNN reports:

In a broadly worded legal brief on Thursday that senior government sources said had President Barack Obama’s personal input and blessing, the Justice Department asserted gay and lesbian couples in the nation’s most populous state have the same “equal protection” right to wed and that voters there were not empowered to ban it. 

“Use of a voter initiative to promote democratic self-governance cannot save a law like Proposition 8 that would otherwise violate equal protection,” said the brief. “Prejudice may not however be the basis for differential treatment under the law.” A poll published today by Reuters found that 61 percent of Californian voters surveyed supported same sex marriage within the states.

Age appeared to be the biggest factor turning the tide in favor of same-sex marriage in California. The Field Poll showed 78 percent of voters age 39 and under favored gay marriage, compared to only 48 percent support among voters 65 or older. The Field Poll was completed between February 5 and February 17 and involved telephone interviews with 834 registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent. (Reuters)