Oops, with all their funding the organisers of Prop 8 gave no thought to defending legal cases after it passed and struggled because their campaign consisted of a) galvanising religious antigay sentiment b) lying c) using 'despisal' techniques - 'a storm is coming' 'they're after your children' etc.
This is easy to do against small minorities such as LGB people but likely to be unconstutional and so has proved. Judge Walker's ruling is slightly dull and boring but works through the facts as one may conclude them boiling down to i)marriage is long held to be a basic right ii)gay people exist and face a history and ongoing legacy and reality of discrimination iii)prop 8 is motivated by animus against a group and is deisgned to classify and mark them out. Therefore it violates principles of Due Process and Equal Protection.
Regarding the stay motions see here.
The state of California declined to defend Prop 8 and the Governor and Attourney General are against a stay of the ruling so we shall see. We must also await the reaction of th 9th Circuit who may themselves grant a stay if Judge Walker doesn't.
Then also the Supreme Court will get its final say. Either way it coud end up being a 5-4 decision whichever way it falls.
Equally encouraging if not more so is the decision by Argentina to enact equality in its marriage laws.
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The recent overturning of Proposition 8 has many LGBT people and allies optimistic, but we still have a long way to go. In the event that Prop 8 goes beyond the 9th circuit court of appeals to the Supreme Court, it could have ramifications for all 50 states. Cross your fingers!
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