Califonia Same-sex Marriage Lawsuits to Participate in Communal Briefing

Jul 01, 2004 09:13 PM EDT

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer decided Tuesday to permit all Californian lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of same-sex marriages to participate in the briefing on the constitutionality of the marriage laws.

A state agency overseeing the courts decided on June 11 that all cases filed in California regarding same-sex marriages should be consolidated into one case to avoid conflicting and confusing rulings. Kramer was assigned to handle the cases.

The cases currently include the two original actions brought in February against Mayor Newsom and the City of San Francisco, as well as three direct challenges by homosexual couples to the marriage laws, reported Liberty Counsel, which is representing Campaign for California Families (CCF) in the case.

Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, and Rena Lindevaldsen, Senior Litigation Counsel for Liberty Counsel, will be representing CCF.

Staver commented, “We are thrilled with the manner in which the Court is handling the coordinated cases. Judge Kramer recognizes the benefit of hearing all sides of the marriage debate, not just those arguments advanced by the same-sex couples and the Attorney General’s office. We welcome the opportunity to defend the constitutionality of California’s decision to promote marriage as the union of one man and one woman. ”