Prop 8 supporters press Schwarzenegger, Brown to defend measure in court

Source McClatchy Newspapers

Proposition 8 supporters are ramping up political–and legal–pressure on Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to defend California's same-sex marriage ban in federal appeals court. The Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative law group, petitioned the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento on Monday to compel Brown and the governor to defend the voter-approved measure. On Wednesday, all 27 Republican state Assembly members released a letter they sent to the governor making similar arguments that Brown has a constitutional duty to defend the measure. If Brown won't act, the lawmakers said, Schwarzenegger should appeal a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.