Federal Judge Rejects Request to Dismiss Prop. 8 Suit

Although Proposition 8 passed in California last year, setting back the gay marriage cause, the legal wheels are still turning to argue against the measure. On Wednesday, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the U.S. District Court refused to stop a challenge to Proposition 8, dismissing the argument that (straight) marriage and procreation are fundamentally linked.  —KA

San Jose Mercury News:

The judge seemed particularly unpersuaded by Proposition 8 attorney Charles Cooper’s argument that the state can outlaw same-sex marriage because of the traditional definition of marriage and its purpose of procreation.

“Procreation doesn’t require marriage,” Walker noted at one point.

The judge’s decision sets the stage for a January trial, which will allow same-sex marriage advocates to argue that Proposition 8 violates the equal protection rights of gay couples because it denies them the equal right to marry.

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Flickr / ingridtaylar

Anti-Proposition 8 demonstrators march in San Francisco after the 2008 election.