Ted Olson (Yeah that Ted Olson) goes to Federal court on behalf of gay marriage

Cross-posted on GD-P

Ted Olson goes to court on behalf of gay marriage
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
05/26/09 9:59 PM EDT


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway...

Former Bush administration solicitor general Theodore Olson is part of a team that has filed suit in federal court in California seeking to overturn Proposition 8 and re-establish the right of same-sex couples to marry.

The suit argues that the state's marriage ban, upheld Tuesday by the California Supreme Court, violates the federal constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry. The complaint was filed Friday, and Olson and co-counsel David Boies -- who argued against Olson in the Bush v. Gore case -- will hold a news conference in Los Angeles Wednesday to explain the case. The conference will feature the two same-sex couples on whose behalf Olson filed suit.

The suit also asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to issue an injunction that would stop enforcement of Proposition 8 and allow same-sex couples to marry while the case is being decided.

"I personally think it is time that we as a nation get past distinguishing people on the basis of sexual orientation, and that a grave injustice is being done to people by making these distinctions," Olson told me Tuesday night. "I thought their cause was just."

I asked Olson about the objections of conservatives who will argue that he is asking a court to overturn the legitimately-expressed will of the people of California. "It is our position in this case that Proposition 8, as upheld by the California Supreme Court, denies federal constitutional rights under the equal protection and due process clauses of the constitution," Olson said. "The constitution protects individuals' basic rights that cannot be taken away by a vote. If the people of California had voted to ban interracial marriage, it would have been the responsibility of the courts to say that they cannot do that under the constitution. We believe that denying individuals in this category the right to lasting, loving relationships through marriage is a denial to them, on an impermissible basis, of the rights that the rest of us enjoy…I also personally believe that it is wrong for us to continue to deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."

Technically, the suit Olson has filed is against the governor, attorney general, and other officials of the state of California. Ultimately, Olson said, it's a question that will be decided in Washington, by the Supreme Court. "This is an issue that will get to the Supreme Court, and I think it could well be this case," he said.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/27/olson-boies/

Ted Olson to team up with Bush v. Gore foe to challenge Prop. 8 in federal court.

Former U.S. solicitor general Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, who argued opposite each other in Bush v. Gore, are now teaming up to “represent two same-sex couples filing suit after being denied marriage licenses because of Proposition 8. Their suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court in California, calls for an injunction against the proposition, allowing immediate reinstatement of marriage rights for same-sex couples.” The American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is leading the case, notes that it is the first time that Olson and Boies have “served alongside each other as co-counsel.” “For a long time I’ve personally felt that we are doing a grave injustice for people throughout this country by denying equality to gay and lesbian individuals,” Olson told The Advocate in an interview. A copy of the 10-page complaint is at link.

Maybe it's too early in the morning for me to think of an answer.

he met "Lady Booth, a tax attorney and native of Kentucky, and the two were married on October 21, 2006 in Napa County, California."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Olson#Personal_life

... that's all that needs to be said. I wouldn't be surprised if he were laying the groundwork for the repeal of gay-marriage in the future.

and with david boies? this is excellent news. these two outstanding attorneys are gonna stick it to California. I've always thought that these state marriage bans violate protections under the federal constitution and see this getting sorted out once and for all at the federal level eventually. True conservtives, not the wingnutty christianist sort, understand keeping the gov't out of one's bedroom more than you realize. Peeps - this is a good development.