(San Francisco, CA, January 15, 2009) — Today, hundreds of religious organizations, civil rights groups, and labor unions, along with numerous California municipal governments, bar associations, and leading legal scholars collectively urged the California Supreme Court to strike down Proposition 8. Dozens of amicus curiae or "friend of the court" briefs argue that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California's Constitution, and that the rights of a minority cannot be eliminated by a simple majority vote.