Lambda Legal Disappointed at Judge Walker's Decision to Impose Brief Hold on Prop 8 Ruling

(Los Angeles, August 12, 2010) — Jennifer C. Pizer, National Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal, issued the following statement in reaction to today's decision from U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker to deny the stay of his historic ruling in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, but to pause the effect of his ruling until next Wednesday, August 18, at 5 p.m.:

"Although we're disappointed that Judge Walker elected today to give the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals a chance to consider the issue of the stay, we are gratified that he has denied the request to put his historic ruling on hold during any appeals. He has applied the standard legal tests in the standard way and reached the only logical conclusions given the overwhelming evidence produced at trial: Nobody is harmed—especially not the backers of Prop 8—by restoring equality in marriage to California's same-sex couples. Nobody suffers when everyone is treated equally. There's enough equality to go around.

"To maintain the stay, the Ninth Circuit will have to find that Prop 8's proponents are likely to win on appeal or will suffer irreparable harm if same-sex couples again are allowed to marry. But at this point, the truth is crystal clear, as last week's decision explains: the only people suffering harm are lesbian and gay couples whose constitutional rights are violated every day that Prop 8 remains in force, and who simply seek the same rights everyone else already enjoys."

For more information, please see Protecting Same-Sex Relationships.

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