Gay marriage appears to be something that will be legal across the United States at some point in time. More and more states states are passing legislation that will allow it, and the Supreme Court is getting set to rule on the issue later this year as well.
Now the Washington Post is reporting that President Obama might wade in California’s ban of gay marriage. The Obama administration has a week to decide whether or not it wants to file a “friend of the court” brief on California’s ban which was put into place by an initiative known as Proposition 8.
USA Today reported on President Obama’s round of television interviews in California on Wednesday. During those interviews, the president talked about his concerns when it comes to jumping into this fight on an official basis.
“I have to make sure that I’m not interjecting myself too much into this process, particularly when we’re not a party to the case.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule in late June as to whether or not they will be upholding the gay marriage ban instituted by Proposition 8.
While the high court is not necessarily bound to rule one way or another even if a “friend of the court” brief is filed, those briefs do tend to carry a little weight.
In President Obama’s inaugural address, the President said that gays and lesbians should be “treated like anyone else under the law.” That would seem to indicate if a brief were filed it would be filed in support of overturning the ban.
If the administration did file a brief, it wouldn’t be the first time they have legally shown support for legalizing gay marriage. The justice department has previously refused to defend challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
Will the Obama administration file a brief in support of striking down Proposition 8?
