Gay Marriage Opponents File Appeal in Prop. 8 Case

As Lyle Denniston notes at SCOTUSblog, the backers of California's Proposition 8, which had amended the state constitution in order to forbid gay marriage, have opted not to appeal their recent loss before a 3-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court, but will instead ask an 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit to first reconsider their case:

Arguing that the issue is of "exceptional importance" and that a Ninth Circuit Court panel got it wrong, sponsors of California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage in the state—"Proposition 8?—asked the appeals court to reconsider the case en banc, a move that would wipe out the panel ruling and slow the progress of the case toward the Supreme Court. In a 52-page rehearing petition, the ballot measure's backers contended that the panel's decision on February 7 directly contradicts four prior Supreme Court rulings.

The petition also sought to have the fuller court wipe out the District Court judge's 2010 ruling that nullified Proposition 8, asserting that his failure to disclose that he is a gay man involved in a long-term partnership disqualified him from trying the case—an argument that the Ninth Circuit panel had rejected.

For additional coverage of the Prop. 8 case, go here. For a look at what the Supreme Court's recent rulings on gay rights may mean for the future of gay marriage, see here.