[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/presidents-prop-8-brief-is-genius\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/presidents-prop-8-brief-is-genius\/","headline":"President\u2019s Prop 8 Brief Is Genius","name":"President\u2019s Prop 8 Brief Is Genius","description":"By Brittny Drye The language of President Obama\u2019s amicus brief for Prop 8 has been released, and it\u2019s quite the long-term strategy. Though it didn\u2019t...","datePublished":"2013-03-01","dateModified":"2021-06-30","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/president-obama-prop-8-same-sex-marriage.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/president-obama-prop-8-same-sex-marriage.jpg","height":300,"width":223},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/presidents-prop-8-brief-is-genius\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":387,"articleBody":"By Brittny DryeThe language of President Obama\u2019s amicus brief for Prop 8 has been released, and it\u2019s quite the long-term strategy.Though it didn\u2019t outright insist that the Supreme Court declare marriage equality a constitutional right, under the President\u2019s argument over the unconstitutionality of Prop 8, any state with a ban would fail the test. (Think of those 29 currently holding same-sex marriage bans, in addition to California.)It\u2019s pretty genius on the President\u2019s end.According to the New Yorker, Theodore Boutrous, one of the lead attorneys in the small group of legal luminaries representing the Proposition 8 plaintiffs (which also includes David Boies and Ted Olson), said on a conference call for reporters that they were \u201cextremely pleased\u201d that the government had taken a strong stand for marriage. He added, with respect to other anti-gay marriage bans, \u201cI don\u2019t see any way these laws could survive\u201d under the legal test urged by the Justice Department in its brief.It also touches upon domestic partnerships and civil unions, stating that they are still discriminatory: [California] provides to same-sex couples registered as domestic partners all the legal incidents of marriage, but it nonetheless denies them the designation of marriage allowed to their opposite-sex counterparts. Particularly in those circumstances, the exclusion of gay and lesbian couples from marriage does not substantially further any important governmental interest. Proposition 8 thus violates equal protection.The language of this brief, if used by the SCOTUS, ensures that the bans from other states will fall if fought, a crucial first step that is necessary for nationwide equality. No war can be won with one battle, and in endorsing the unconstitutionality of all bans, the President is helping us to start winning those state-by-state fights.According to SCOTUSblog.com, it also introduces the President\u2019s \u201ceight-state solution,\u201d\u2014that is, if a state already recognizes for same-sex couples all the privileges and benefits that married couples have (as in the eight states that do so through \u201ccivil unions\u201d) those states\u00a0must go the final step and allow those couples to get married.\u00a0The argument is that it violates the Constitution\u2019s guarantee of legal equality when both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are entitled to the same marital benefits,\u00a0but only the opposite-sex couples can get married.For the full brief, click here. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"President\u2019s Prop 8 Brief Is Genius","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/presidents-prop-8-brief-is-genius\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]