Civil Rights

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris will hold a press conference today to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling that the opponents of same-sex marriage do not have standing to sue.

LIVESTREAM  link: http://oag.ca.gov/

In February of this year, Attorney General Harris filed a friend-of-the-court brief to the United States Supreme Court arguing that the opponents of same sex marriage did not have the legal standing necessary to challenge marriage equality in the nation’s highest court. Today, the Supreme Court agreed that Proposition 8’s supporters lacked standing.  A copy of the Attorney General’s amicus brief is attached to the electronic version of this release at: http://oag.ca.gov/news.

WHEN:  TODAY, Wednesday, June 26 - 10:30 a.m.

NOTE: This event is open to credentialed media only.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement on today’s Proposition 8 arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court:

“I declined to defend Proposition 8 because it violates the Constitution. The Supreme Court has described marriage as a fundamental right 14 times since 1888. The time has come for this right to be afforded to every citizen.”

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the United States Supreme Court arguing that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and the initiative's sponsors do not have the right to claim to represent the interests of California by defending the law in federal court.

"Equal protection under the law is a bedrock of our Constitution and fulfills our nation's binding principle that all people are created equal and should live free of discrimination," said Attorney General Harris. "I look forward to the day when all Californians are granted their full civil rights and can marry the person they love."

In August 2010, a federal district court invalidated Proposition 8 on the grounds that it violated the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by taking away the right of same-sex couples to marry, without a sufficient governmental interest. Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Harris both refused to defend Proposition 8 on the basis that the law is unconstitutional.

The amicus brief lays out the harm done by Proposition 8 by preventing marriage between gay and lesbian couples.

"The sole yet profound effect of Proposition 8 was to take away the right of gay and lesbian couples to call their union a 'marriage' and to strip loving relationships of validation and dignity under law. It did not change any of the legal rights and responsibilities afforded same-sex couples and their children under California law," the amicus brief states. "To be clear, Proposition 8's sole purpose was to prevent same-sex couples from marrying. There is absolutely no legitimate or rational state interest in doing so. Proposition 8 is therefore unconstitutional."

The brief affirms that creating a stable home for children is an important interest served by marriage under California law – and one that is furthered by allowing all couples to marry. 

"The state's interest in protecting children, including the over 50,000 children in California being raised by same-sex parents, is poorly served by allowing so many of them grow up feeling inferior because their family unit is not validated and honored by law," the amicus brief states. "California's interests in protecting all of its children – and their basic dignity and understanding of fairness and justice – are best served by allowing same-sex couples to enjoy the same benefits of marriage as opposite-sex couples."

Attorney General Harris also argued that the sponsors of Proposition 8 cannot defend the law in federal court because they do not have legal standing to bring this appeal. The brief argues that, unlike state officials, the sponsors lack enforcement authority and therefore do not suffer "injury-in-fact" as a result of a federal district court's judgment enjoining Proposition 8's enforcement.

"The decisions below invade proponents' interest only to the extent that they, like other voters, have a generalized interest in the enforcement of Proposition 8," the amicus brief states. As a result, the Proposition 8 sponsors "can only assert the kind of undifferentiated interest in the validity of state law that this Court has held to be insufficient for [legal] standing."

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the matter on March 26.

In May 2011, Attorney General Harris filed a similar amicus brief in California Supreme Court.

A copy of the U.S. Supreme Court amicus is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov.                           

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day:

“Today we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the progress our great nation has made toward fulfilling his dream of justice and equality for every American. His legacy has resonated for nearly five decades because he drew his power not from violence and division but from an appeal to the compassion at the core of the American spirit.

Dr. King challenged us to realize our highest ideals and ‘make real the promises of democracy,’ and to truly honor him, we must re-commit ourselves to his work every day and every generation.”

SAN FRANCISCO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued the following statement today on the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement on Proposition 8:

“Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to consider marriage equality takes our nation one step closer to realizing the American ideal of equal protection under the law for all people,” said Attorney General Harris.

“For justice to prevail, Proposition 8 must be invalidated so that gay and lesbian families are finally treated with equality and dignity.”

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, the recipient of the George Moscone Ally Award by Christopher Street West, the organizers of LA Pride, will ride in the Pride parade this Sunday, June 10.

Attorney General Harris was honored for her “bold leadership on matters of paramount importance to the LGBT community,” including her refusal to defend in court Proposition 8, the initiative that ended marriage equality in the state.

Attorney General Harris has long been an advocate for the LGBT community. As San Francisco District Attorney, she convened a national conference of prosecutors to undermine the “gay or trans panic” defense. She also tailored the office’s programs to serve the LGBT community, setting up special programs to combat anti-LGBT hate crimes, as well as an LGBT Victim Advocacy Unit and an LGBT Sexual Assault Awareness Program. A long-time advocate of marriage equality, Harris has been performing marriages for LGBT couples since 2004.

“I am honored to advocate for California’s LGBT community and am honored to be presented with the George Moscone Ally Award,” said Attorney General Harris. “Our American democracy is founded on the principle of equality before the law, and any law that denies rights to one group of people because of who they are contradicts that core principle. George Moscone lived by this principle, and his legacy lives on.”

“These are hopeful times for the LGBT community, especially with recent rulings against Propostion 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. Proposition 8 denies equality under the law to gay and lesbian couples. Each and every day since it was passed, same-sex couples have been denied their right to convene loved ones and friends to celebrate marriages sanctioned and protected by California law. Each one of those days, loved ones have been lost, moments have been missed, and justice has been denied. We must transform our hope for equality into action to achieve it.'”

LA’s annual pride parade began in 1970, one year after the Stonewall Rebellion which occurred on Christopher Street in New York City. Today, over 400,000 participants march annually in West Hollywood in support of the LGBT community. The Christopher Street West Association, a non-profit organization that advocates for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered communities, organizes the annual Los Angeles LGBT Pride Parade.

SACRAMENTO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement:

“I applaud the President's statement today supporting marriage equality. Equality before the law is the founding principle of our nation. In that spirit, I will continue our common work to ensure that equality belongs to all Californians and all Americans.”

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today applauded a decision by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to affirm the reinstatement of the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for fairness, a victory for equality and a victory for justice,” said Attorney General Harris. “Proposition 8 denied to gay and lesbian couples the equal protection to which all Americans are entitled. By striking this unconstitutional law from our books, the court has restored dignity, equality and respect to all Californians.”

The Ninth Circuit Court today upheld with Perry v. Brown the decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, which enjoins state and local officials from enforcing the ban on same-sex marriage. Attorney General Harris, along with Governor Brown and other state and local officials, refused to defend the law.

In 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that state laws restricting the right of same-sex couples to marry violated the state constitution. Later that year, the voters approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to provide that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

The California Supreme Court upheld this law against a challenge under the state constitution, but did not consider any challenge on federal constitutional grounds. Perry v. Brown raised federal constitutional challenges of equal protection and due process that were not considered by the state supreme court. After a full trial on the merits, district court Judge Vaughn Walker concluded that Proposition 8 violated these principles of due process and equal protection. His decision to enjoin enforcement of Proposition 8 was issued in 2011.

Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit upholds that decision.

SACRAMENTO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has joined 11 other state attorneys general in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the court in Magner v. Gallagher to rule that federal anti-discrimination law can be enforced in cases where a housing or mortgage policy appears neutral on its surface but has a discriminatory effect.

“Segregation in housing and barriers to equal opportunity remain a great concern for communities throughout the country. Disparate impact causes of action are needed to respond to contemporary forms of bias and to eliminate practices and policies that perpetuate segregated housing patterns,” the amicus brief states.

This case involves a policy of the City of St. Paul, Minnesota to remedy “problem properties” by targeting low-income renter-occupied properties for housing-code violations, condemnations and evictions. In 2004 and 2005, a group of current and former owners of rental properties challenged the city’s policy, contending that these practices had a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities and, in particular, African Americans. African Americans made up 60 to 70 percent of the city’s low-income renters, while they made up approximately 12 percent of the population of St. Paul.

“For more than four decades, the Fair Housing Act has been a key tool for rooting out discrimination in housing and residential financing,” Attorney General Harris said. “Minority homeowners and renters in California, who have been disproportionately impacted by the housing and mortgage crisis, deserve access to housing without facing discrimination and other deceptive practices.”

The plaintiffs challenged the city’s policy in federal court under the Fair Housing Act, which is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. In 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that housing policies that disproportionately impact protected groups violate the Fair Housing Act and are subject to disparate-impact scrutiny. The City appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments in the matter in February 2012.

A bipartisan group of attorneys general joining California in this brief represent Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and West Virginia.

A copy of the amicus brief is attached to the online version of this release at www.oag.ca.gov.

SACRAMENTO --- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued the following statement on the Perry v. Brown ruling:

“While the Department of Justice argued the Proposition 8 proponents do not have standing to pursue this appeal, the court has ruled otherwise. This ruling now shifts the litigation to the federal court of appeals. I firmly believe that Proposition 8 violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution and am confident that justice will prevail.”