Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee City and County of San Francisco'S Response Brief
Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee City and County of San Francisco'S Response Brief
Plaintiff-Intervenor-Appellee City and County of San Francisco'S Response Brief
Defendants-Intervenors-Appellants.
PLAINTIFF-INTERVENOR-APPELLEE
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO'S
RESPONSE BRIEF
n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 2 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................... iii
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................1
ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW .....................................................................3
ARGUMENT .............................................................................................................3
I. PROPOSITION 8'S SOLE EFFECT WAS TO STRIP
CALIFORNIA'S LESBIAN AND GAY CITIZENS OF THEIR
EQUAL STATURE UNDER THE CALIFORNIA
CONSTITUTION. .................................................................................3
A. Prior To Proposition 8, All Couples In California Had Equal
Substantive Rights And Equal Stature Under The Law. ............4
B. Proposition 8 Stripped Lesbian And Gay Couples Of Equal
Stature By Removing A State Constitutional Guarantee
From Them Alone But Did Not Alter Their Rights To The
Incidents Of Marriage. ................................................................6
II. PROPOSITION 8 IS PECULIARLY IRRATIONAL UNDER
CALIFORNIA LAW. ............................................................................8
A. Proposition 8 Must Be Evaluated In The Context Of
California's Other Laws And Policies. ........................................8
B. Proponents' "Responsible Procreation And Childrearing"
Rationale For Denying Marriage To Same-Sex Couples Is
Unrelated To Proposition 8's Actual Effects On California
Law. .............................................................................................9
1. California Regulates Marriage Separately From
Parentage. ........................................................................10
2. California Treats Lesbian And Gay Parents
Identically To Heterosexual Parents. ..............................11
3. California Seeks To Identify Responsible Parents For
All Children, No Matter How They Were Conceived....13
4. California Law Expresses No Preference For
Opposite-Sex Or Biological Parents. ..............................15
C. Proponents' "Proceed With Caution" Rationale Is Belied By
The Same California Law And Policies....................................17
i n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 3 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
ii n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 4 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Federal Cases
Bd. of Trustees v. Garrett
531 U.S. 356 (2001) .............................................................................................23
Eisenstadt v. Baird
405 U.S. 438 (1972) ...............................................................................................9
Heller v. Doe
509 U.S. 312 (1993) ...............................................................................................8
Lawrence v. Texas
539 U.S. 558 (2003) .............................................................................................23
Palmore v. Sidoti
466 U.S. 429 (1984) .............................................................................................13
Plyler v. Doe
457 U.S. 202 (1982) .............................................................................................18
Reitman v. Mulkey
387 U.S. 369 (1967) .............................................................................................13
Romer v. Evans
517 U.S. 620 (1996) ...............................................................................7, 9, 20, 22
Sweatt v. Painter
339 U.S. 629 (1950) .............................................................................................23
iii n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 5 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
Vance v. Bradley
440 U.S. 93 (1979) .................................................................................................8
Williams v. Vermont
472 U.S. 14 (1985) ...........................................................................................9, 22
State Cases
Carney v. Carney
24 Cal. 3d 725 (1971) ...........................................................................................15
Estate of Cornelious
35 Cal. 3d 461 (1984) ...........................................................................................16
Johnson v. Calvert
5 Cal. 4th 84 (1993) ..............................................................................................16
K.M. v. E.G.
117 P.3d 673 (Cal. 2005) ......................................................................5, 12, 14, 15
Kristine H. v. Lisa R.
117 P.3d 690 (Cal. 2005). ...............................................................................12, 14
Kristine M. v. David P.
37 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748 (Ct. App. 2006) .....................................................................5
Marriage Cases
183 P.3d 384 (Cal. 2008) ................................................................... 4, 5, 7, 11, 12
Marriage of Ayo
235 Cal. Rptr. 458 (Ct. App. 1987) ......................................................................14
iv n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 6 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
Marriage of Buzzanca
72 Cal. Rptr. 2d 280 (Ct. App. 1998) ...................................................................14
People v. Garcia
92 Cal. Rptr. 2d 339 (Ct. App. 2000) ...................................................................19
People v. Sorensen
437 P.2d 495 (Cal. 1968) ......................................................................................14
Stepanek v. Stepanek
14 Cal. Rptr. 793 (Ct. App. 1961) ........................................................................10
Strauss v. Horton
207 P.3d 48 (Cal. 2009) ..........................................................................................6
Susan H. v. Jack S.
30 Cal. App. 4th 1435 (1994) ...............................................................................17
State Constitution, Statutes & Codes
Cal. Civ. Code § 51(b) ...............................................................................................4
v n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 7 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
§§ 3000-3465 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 3900-4253 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 7500-7507 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 7540-7670 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 7800-7895 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 7950-7952 ......................................................................................................11
§§ 8500-9212 ......................................................................................................11
vi n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 8 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
INTRODUCTION
Excluding same-sex couples from marriage violates the equal protection and
due process clauses of the federal Constitution, as Plaintiffs argue in their separate
response brief, and the City and County of San Francisco joins fully in those
arguments. But the City, which was granted permissive intervention in this case to
present evidence and argument concerning the interests of the government with
respect to Proposition 8, respectfully submits that the record also supports
affirmance of the decision below on the grounds that Proposition 8 is not rationally
related to legitimate government interests in light of California's particular
constitutional and statutory guarantees.
Before the enactment of Proposition 8, California's Constitution provided an
equal protection, privacy, and due process guarantee to all couples that their
committed relationships would be honored as marriages by the State. In addition,
the California Constitution guaranteed full equality to its gay and lesbian citizens
in all aspects of economic, political and family life.
Against this backdrop, Proposition 8 had a peculiar effect: it removed only
the honored stature of "marriage" from same-sex couples, yet altered none of their
state constitutional rights to the traditional incidents of marriage, including the
right to form a family and raise children. Indeed, the official ballot argument in
support of Proposition 8 emphatically insisted that it removed no existing legal
rights from gay and lesbian couples other than their right to the title "marriage."
ER 1032. Describing its effect in this way may makes Proposition 8 seem like a
trifle over a name. But no observer of the campaign to enact Proposition 8—which
spent tens of millions of dollars to pass it, SER 353, and which its supporters
claimed was necessary to preserve the sanctity of marriage itself, ER 1035—would
call Proposition 8 a trifle. Indeed, in the eyes of its vocal proponents, Proposition
1 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 9 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
8 was deadly serious, necessary to prevent "[t]he meaning and status of marriage
[from being] completely lost." SER 612.
What is the governmental purpose advanced by such a scheme, the creation
of a separate constitutional classification to remove a designation of honor but not
the substantive rights traditionally accompanying that honor? As discussed below,
the rationale that Proponents primarily advance for the classification, the
"responsible procreation" justification, does not support it, for the basic reason that
Proposition 8 had no effect on the legal regimes governing parentage and
childrearing in California. Indeed, Proposition 8 undermines state interests
embodied in laws that remain intact after its passage. The "responsible
procreation" justification is so far removed from the actual effects of Proposition 8
that it cannot plausibly serve as a rational basis for the measure.
But the interest that is in fact advanced by Proposition 8 is not hidden. The
official ballot argument in favor of Proposition 8 made plain its reason: to avoid
having anyone, and especially children, view gay relationships as "okay" or as "the
same" as heterosexual relationships. ER 1032. Proposition 8 was enacted
specifically to strip gay and lesbian families of the honor of marriage and to
remove the taint from marriage and the family that its proponents believed was
etched by inclusion of same-sex couples in this institution.
The Equal Protection Clause does not tolerate creation of a hierarchy for its
own sake. Because Proposition 8 advances no rationale other than to exclude gay
and lesbian couples from the most honored relationship classification and relegate
them to a separate designation, it denies them the equal protection of the law and
must be struck down.
2 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 10 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
3 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 11 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
gay couples as identical to heterosexual couples in all other respects yet deny them
the honored title "marriage."
A. Prior To Proposition 8, All Couples In California Had Equal
Substantive Rights And Equal Stature Under The Law.
Prior to Proposition 8, all couples in California—whether their members
were of opposite sexes or the same sex—had two basic guarantees: they were
guaranteed equal access to the incidents of marriage and equal stature through
access to the designation "marriage." With respect to access to the incidents of
marriage—including, as discussed below, the rights to bear and raise children—the
state Constitution still guarantees the same rights to opposite sex couples who
marry and same-sex couples who enter domestic partnerships.
California law requires the equal treatment of gay men and lesbians in public
and private life. Neither government nor private entities may discriminate against
them in education, employment, housing, public accommodations, insurance
policies, or health care service plans. See Cal. Civ. Code § 51(b); Cal. Ed. Code
§ 200; Cal. Gov. Code § 11135; id. §§ 12920 et seq.; Cal. Health & Safety Code
§ 1365.5; Cal. Ins. Code §§ 1374.58, 10140; Cal. Lab. Code § 4600.6(g)(2); Cal.
Stats. 1999, ch. 592; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 10, § 2632.4.
This guarantee of equal treatment extends to family life. In California,
"[r]egistered domestic partners … have the same rights … and shall be subject to
the same responsibilities … as are granted to and imposed upon spouses." Cal.
Fam. Code § 297.5(a); Marriage Cases, 183 P.3d 384, 417 (Cal. 2008); Koebke v.
Bernardo Heights Country Club, 115 P.3d 1212, 1223 (Cal. 2005). Same-sex
couples also possess the right to have and raise children on the same terms as
opposite-sex couples. See Cal. Fam. Code § 297.5(d) ("The rights and obligations
of registered domestic partners with respect to a child of either of them shall be the
4 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 12 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
same as those of spouses."). Domestic partners may adopt each other's children,
Cal. Fam. Code § 9000(g), and California law presumes that both domestic
partners are parents of a child born to either partner during the relationship. See
Kristine M. v. David P., 37 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748, 751 (Ct. App. 2006). Whether they
have entered into domestic partnership or not, lesbian and gay couples are
permitted to become foster parents and adopt children on the same terms as
opposite-sex couples. See Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 16013(a); Sharon S. v.
Superior Court, 73 P.3d 554, 569-70 (Cal. 2003) ("any otherwise qualified single
adult or two adults, married or not, may adopt a child"). Perhaps most
significantly, California law recognizes that same-sex couples, whether domestic
partners or not, have the capacity and inclination to procreate, and specifically
permits them to do so.1 See, e.g., Elisa B. v. Superior Court, 117 P.3d 660 (Cal.
2005); K.M. v. E.G., 117 P.3d 673 (Cal. 2005); see generally Marriage Cases, 183
P.3d at 433 & n.50 (referring to "the numerous children in California … being
raised by same-sex couples").
In Marriage Cases, 183 P.3d 384 (Cal. 2008), the California Supreme Court
recognized that the laws ensuring equal treatment of lesbians and gay men are not
merely dispensations of the Legislature but are rights guaranteed by the California
Constitution. It issued three holdings. First, recognizing that "an individual's
homosexual orientation is not a constitutionally legitimate basis for withholding or
restricting the individual's legal rights," the Court interpreted the state Constitution
to provide gay individuals the same basic due process and privacy rights as all
1
When it adopted the Uniform Parentage Act's amendment governing
artificial insemination, California removed language referring to a "married
woman" thus making it possible for unmarried women, including lesbians, to have
children and create families using this process. See Marriage of Buzzanca, 72
Cal. Rptr. 2d 280, 285 n.7 (Ct. App. 1998). The UPA has been extended to apply
to surrogacy as well. Id. at 284-88.
5 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 13 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
others. Id. at 429-30. This guarantee of liberty includes "the substantive right of
two adults who share a loving relationship to join together to establish an officially
recognized family of their own—and, if the couple chooses, to raise children
within that family." Id. at 399; see also id. at 418 n.27.
Second, and independently, the Court considered the entitlement of lesbian
and gay couples to the designation "marriage." The Court held that the California
Constitution guaranteed same-sex couples the right to have their relationships
accorded the same designation as opposite-sex couples' relationships, i.e. the
stature of marriage. Id. at 434-35, 452-53.
Finally, the Court held that under the equal protection clause of the
California Constitution, "sexual orientation should be viewed as a suspect
classification" and "statutes that treat persons differently because of their sexual
orientation should be subjected to strict scrutiny." Id. at 442; see id. at 442-44.
B. Proposition 8 Stripped Lesbian And Gay Couples Of Equal
Stature By Removing A State Constitutional Guarantee From
Them Alone But Did Not Alter Their Rights To The Incidents Of
Marriage.
Contrary to Proponents' understanding, Proposition 8 did not "overrule" the
Supreme Court's interpretation of the then-existing California Constitution. Brief
9. Instead, Proposition 8 "establishe[d] a new substantive state constitutional rule
that took effect upon the voters' approval." Strauss v. Horton, 207 P.3d 48, 63
(Cal. 2009). In Strauss, the California Supreme Court authoritatively construed the
scope of Proposition 8's new substantive rule. It found that Proposition 8 "carv[ed]
out an exception" to the privacy and due process clauses of the California
Constitution. Id. at 75. But that exception extended only to the right of gay men
and lesbians to designate their relationships "marriage"; Proposition 8 did not
repeal the other constitutional rights of same-sex couples recognized in the
6 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 14 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
Marriage Cases. See Strauss, 207 P.3d at 75, 102. Same-sex couples thus retain
"the constitutional right to enter into an officially recognized and protected family
relationship with the person of one's choice and to raise children in that family if
the couple so chooses," id. at 102, and apart from the designation "marriage," any
classification based on sexual orientation is subject to strict scrutiny. Id. at 78,
102. Interpreting Proposition 8 to effect a repeal of any rights other than to the
designation "marriage," the Court held, would amount to an implied repeal of
constitutional rights, which is disfavored. Id at 75-76. Finally, the Court held that,
because it did not expressly state that it applied retroactively, Proposition 8 did not
invalidate the approximately 18,000 marriages that same-sex couples entered into
before it passed. Id. at 119-23.
Proposition 8 is therefore singular in that it regulates only stature and not the
substance of family rights, and only for lesbians and gay men who would marry
after November 4, 2008. It is also singular in the manner in which it does this
work: by cutting away a portion of the due process, equal protection, and privacy
guarantees for a minority class of Californians only, through a popular majority
vote. As the Supreme Court noted in Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996),
"[d]iscriminations of an unusual character especially suggest careful
consideration." Id. at 633 (quotation omitted). The peculiarity of Proposition 8 is
similar to that of Amendment 2, the Colorado constitutional amendment denying
lesbians and gay men the right to obtain statutory antidiscrimination protections
from the State or local governments, which the Supreme Court invalidated in
Romer, finding that "[i]t is not within our constitutional tradition to enact laws of
this sort." Id.
Just as the Supreme Court did with Amendment 2, this Court should
carefully evaluate Proposition 8's justifications in light of its singularity. But
7 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 15 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
8 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 16 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
thus repeatedly looked to a State's other laws to determine whether its purported
justification supplies a rational basis for a challenged law. See, e.g., Romer, 517
U.S. at 626-31 (assessing effect and purpose of challenged ballot measure in light
of Colorado's and other jurisdictions' modern antidiscrimination laws); Williams v.
Vermont, 472 U.S. 14, 15, 26 (1985) (Vermont's proffered justification for sales
and use tax regime did not support the challenged law because it was contradicted
by other Vermont sales tax provisions); Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438, 449-50
(1972) (Massachusetts's law prohibiting distribution of contraceptives could not be
justified as auxiliary to its ban on premarital sex where a conviction for distributing
contraceptives carried a sentence 20 times longer than a conviction for
fornication).
Thus, this Court must evaluate Proposition 8 in light of its effect and its
context. If the Court concludes that, in light of the constitutional protections and
statutes pertaining to gay people and gay families that Proposition 8 left untouched,
the voters could not reasonably have conceived that Proposition 8 would
accomplish the objectives Proponents assert, then the Court cannot uphold
Proposition 8 on the basis of such implausible objectives.
B. Proponents' "Responsible Procreation And Childrearing"
Rationale For Denying Marriage To Same-Sex Couples Is
Unrelated To Proposition 8's Actual Effects On California Law.
Proponents argue that Proposition 8 furthers the State's interest in
"responsible procreation and childrearing." Brief 77-93. They are correct that
society has a paramount interest in "providing status and stability to the
environment in which children are raised." Brief 78. Indeed, California's laws
concerning parent-child relationships treat as central the State's concern for the
welfare and wellbeing of children. See Cal. Fam. Code § 3020(a) ("it is the public
9 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 17 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
policy of this state to assure that the health, safety, and welfare of children shall be
the court's primary concern in determining the best interest of children").
From there, however, Proponents' arguments and California law quickly
diverge. California law distinguishes between marriage and parenting, treats
lesbian and gay parents identically to heterosexual parents, recognizes that
irresponsible procreation and childrearing are not limited to situations where
children are conceived accidentally, and gives no preference to parents of different
genders. As a constitutional amendment, Proposition 8 could have changed any or
all of these laws. But it did not. Having left unchanged the state constitutional
provisions and laws treating same-sex parents the same as opposite-sex parents,
Proposition 8 cannot plausibly be construed as a measure designed to encourage
opposite-sex parenting over same-sex parenting.
1. California Regulates Marriage Separately From Parentage.
Proponents' procreation and childrearing rationales have as their first
premise that the law governing access to marriage is designed primarily or in
significant part to regulate parenting—the having and raising of children. That
premise is fundamentally flawed in California, where marriage does not depend on
procreation, and the parentage laws, which govern who is deemed to be the parent
of a minor child, do not distinguish between parents based on their marital status.
California does not condition marriage on either partner's ability to
procreate, Stepanek v. Stepanek, 14 Cal. Rptr. 793, 794 (Ct. App. 1961) (lack of
"fruitfulness" not ground for nullifying marriage),2 or potential fitness as a parent.
See Cal. Fam. Code §§ 300-303 (requirements for marriage), 2200-2201 (void
2
Inability to have sexual relations, if incurable, is grounds for annulment,
but inability to procreate is not. Cal. Fam Code § 2210; see also Stepanek v.
Stepanek, 14 Cal. Rptr. at 794 ("The law's test is simply the ability or inability for
copulation, not fruitfulness").
10 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 18 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
11 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 19 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
12 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 20 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
opposite-sex and same-sex couples. It neither privileges nor burdens one type of
couple differently than the other when it comes to childbearing or parenting.
3. California Seeks To Identify Responsible Parents For All
Children, No Matter How They Were Conceived.
Proponents contend the State needs to offer marriage as an incentive to
opposite-sex couples to encourage them to have and raise children only in the
context of a marital family rather than through "casual sexual behavior" that may
unintentionally produce children. See Brief at 78, 84-86 (Proposition 8 seeks to
"channel potential procreative conduct into relationships" that "further society's
interest in responsible procreation and childrearing.").
To the extent this argument can be credited at all, it must be taken a step
further than Proponents are willing to admit: Because Proposition 8 does not
bestow an honor on opposite-sex couples but instead removes an honor from same-
sex couples, this "incentives" justification can be credited only if it is rational to
believe that opposite-sex couples will be less likely to raise children in a marital
family if the stature of marriage is also available to same-sex couples. In fact, as
discussed infra in Section III., this is the actual justification that Proposition 8's
Proponents relied on in their campaign to enact it: that the inclusion of same-sex
couples somehow sullied marriage itself and devalued it in the eyes of heterosexual
couples. Yet Proponents produced not a shred of evidence that any opposite-sex
couple in California would be less likely to marry if same-sex couples could as
well. More importantly, as Plaintiffs set out in Section IV.B of their response
brief, the state's creation of a separate relationship classification to accommodate
private biases is not a legitimate state interest. See Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S.
429, 433 (1984); Reitman v. Mulkey, 387 U.S. 369, 378-79 (1967).
13 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 21 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
14 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 22 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
15 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 23 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
16 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 24 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
mother. See, e.g., Elisa B., 117 P.3d at 667-68. Rather, California law recognizes
that a person who has lived with a child and held the child out as a son or daughter
has developed a relationship with the child that is "much more important" to the
child than biological parentage. Id. at 668. Courts apply these parentage
presumptions to protect established parent-child relationships even in the face of
competing claims by biological parents because doing so "promotes the state's
interest in the child's welfare." Susan H. v. Jack S., 30 Cal. App. 4th 1435,
1442 (1994).
Proposition 8 did not revise these presumptions to rank opposite-sex parents
or biological parents above other factors in establishing parent-child relationships.
Its failure to do so belies Proponents' post hoc rationale.
C. Proponents' "Proceed With Caution" Rationale Is Belied By The
Same California Law And Policies.
Proponents also argue that the State should proceed with caution in
modifying the definition of marriage, for fear that allowing same-sex couples to
marry will contribute to the "deinstitutionalization" of marriage, breaking the links
between marriage and childrearing. Brief at 98. Yet as discussed above,
California already treats opposite-sex and same-sex couples alike with respect to
parentage, childrearing, foster parenting, and adoption. Proponents offer no
explanation for how access to the honorific title of "marriage" may
deinstitutionalize it when access to the incidents of marriage have not. Nor, for
that matter, have they explained how denying marriage to same-sex couples who
would seek to marry after November 4, 2008 will deinstitutionalize marriage, when
leaving intact the marriages of approximately 18,000 same-sex couples who
married in California before that date has not. Moreover, to the extent Proponents
implicitly rely on the rationale that opposite-sex couples will be less likely to
17 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 25 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
18 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 26 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
Dr. Meyer, a law like Proposition 8 sends a message that gay relationships are not
to be respected, and it "encourage[s] or at least is consistent with holding
prejudicial attitudes." SER 156; see also Transcript 1276:11-13 (testimony of San
Diego Mayor and former Police Chief Jerry Sanders that "if government tolerates
discrimination against anyone for any reason, it becomes an excuse for the public
to do exactly the same thing"); People v. Garcia, 92 Cal. Rptr. 2d 339, 348 (Ct.
App. 2000) (for government to allow use of peremptory challenges to prospective
jurors based on sexual orientation would send message that gay people are
presumed unqualified to decide important questions). The net effect of
discrimination against lesbians and gay men in society, according to Dr. Meyer, is
a disproportionate incidence of mental and physical health problems, substance
abuse, depression and suicide. Transcript 870:23-872:21.
Moreover, the costs of sexual orientation discrimination are not merely
borne by the individuals who experience it daily. The trial record demonstrates
that school districts collectively lose tens of millions of dollars from absences
resulting when students are bullied because of their sexual orientation. PX810.
Students who drop out of school mean lost productivity to the state's economy.
Transcript 704:20-705:8. The health costs associated with institutional and social
stigma against gay people are likewise borne by governments, as the health care
providers of last resort. Transcript 699:16-702:7; see also Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code
§ 9103(a) (finding lesbian and gay seniors' "lifelong experiences of marginalization
place [them] at high risk for isolation, poverty, homelessness, and premature
institutionalization"). California also sees hundreds of sexual-orientation based
hate crimes every year, requiring state and local governments to spend resources
investigating and prosecuting these crimes, PX 711, and causing loss of
productivity to the state. And these measurements do not quantify the crushing
19 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 27 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
20 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 28 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
would continue to have "'the same rights, protections and benefits' as married
spouses" and that Proposition 8 would not "take away" those rights. ER 1032. It
would only take away the title of "marriage." Id. But according to the ballot
argument, removing the title of "marriage" from gay and lesbian couples was
essential to "preserving marriage" itself. Thus, the title "marriage" must be
reserved for opposite-sex couples to signal that their relationships are "traditional,"
"ideal," and "an essential institution of society," in stark contrast to gay and lesbian
couples, who were marked with repeated demeaning references to "the gay
lifestyle." ER 1032-33.3 Indeed, according to the ballot argument, if lesbians and
gay men were allowed access to the title "marriage," then children would be taught
that "gay marriage is okay" and that "there is no difference between gay marriage
and traditional marriage." ER 1032 (emphasis in original). That was the harm to
be remedied: the elimination of difference between opposite-sex and same-sex
couples.
This rationale was emphasized not merely in the voter pamphlet but
throughout the Yes on 8 campaign. "[I]f we have same-sex marriage legalized, it's
… an affirmation that it's just as good. And then we're going to have this society
that eventually is going to come to believe it …." SER 552-53; see also SER 622
("Public schools will teach the fully equal status of homosexual and heterosexual
conduct based, in substantial part, on state marriage law."); SER 556 (presenting
married gay couples as equal to married heterosexual couples "is a radically anti-
3
In asserting in the ballot argument that "Proposition 8 is not an attack on
the gay lifestyle," Proponents protested too much. ER 1032 (emphasis in original).
The very characterization of gay relationships as a "lifestyle" is a stereotype that
not only calls up images of gay people as sexually deviant that were prevalent until
very recently, but would never be tolerated if used for any other minority group,
such as with reference to an African-American or Jewish lifestyle.
21 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 29 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
human thing to say"); ER 1036 (campaign materials warning that allowing gay and
lesbian couples to marry "destroys the sanctity of marriage").4
In short, voters were told that if Proposition 8 does not pass, "[t]he meaning
and status of marriage will be completely lost" through the according of equal
stature to gay and lesbian couples. SER 612. The purpose of Proposition 8 was
made plain: it was simply to ensure that lesbian and gay couples could not taint
marriage, in its supporters' eyes, by claiming this stature.
Proposition 8 thus finds its justification not in its effects on procreation or
parentage but instead in honoring opposite-sex relationships and commensurately
dishonoring same-sex relationships—even while the California Constitution
guarantees that substantive incidents of both relationships are the same. Its
constitutionality must therefore rise or fall on whether this is a legitimate state
purpose. It is not.
Under the federal Equal Protection Clause, "[b]eneficence [cannot] be
distributed arbitrarily," Williams, 472 U.S. at 27, nor can California create a
hierarchy of relationships simply "to make [lesbians and gay men] unequal to
everyone else." Romer, 517 U.S. at 635. "'A purpose to discriminate against [a
disfavored group] cannot, in and of itself and without reference to [some
independent] considerations in the public interest, justify'" the classification. U.S.
Dep't of Agric. v. Moreno, 413 U.S. 528, 534-35 (1973) (quotation marks omitted;
alteration in original). And the extent to which this hierarchy is based on private
moral beliefs does not remove the equal protection violation but only confirms it,
4
At times, the difference between same-sex couples and opposite-sex
couples was merely asserted, as if it were self-evident. At other times, Proposition
8 campaign messages resorted to expressly moral or religious terms to justify the
same conclusion. See, e.g., SER 326-28; see also PX0168; PX 0390; PX2842 (all
available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/evidence/index.html).
22 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 30 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
23 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 31 of 31 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-1
and respect, did not deserve the same symbolism about marriage."); PX0186. And
the importance of the title and stature of marriage is amply demonstrated by the
$40 million that Proponents spent on a ballot measure just to "preserve" it from the
taint of gay people and their relationships. Thus, there can be no question that the
designation "marriage," which is unique in its history, traditions, meaning and
prestige, is—by itself and even apart from the tangible rights and benefits
associated with it—a right of constitutional importance.
Proposition 8 stripped the right to the honor of "marriage" only from same-
sex couples, and enshrined that inequality in the California Constitution. Yet
under California law, same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples continue to be
similarly situated in every respect that is relevant to intimate and family
relationships. Proposition 8 serves no state interest other than to demean lesbian
and gay relationships and classify them simply to make them unequal to everyone
else. It cannot be sustained under the Equal Protection Clause.
Dated: October 18, 2010 Respectfully submitted,
DENNIS J. HERRERA
City Attorney
THERESE M. STEWART,
Chief Deputy City Attorney
CHRISTINE VAN AKEN
MOLLIE M. LEE
Deputy City Attorneys
24 n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658302.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 1 of 2 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-2
Defendants-Intervenors-Appellants.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
n:\govli1\li2010\100617\00658368.doc
Case: 10-16696 10/18/2010 Page: 2 of 2 ID: 7512863 DktEntry: 143-2
NOTE: To secure your input, you should print the filled-in form to PDF (File > Print > PDF Printer/Creator).
*********************************************************************************
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
When All Case Participants are Registered for the Appellate CM/ECF System
I hereby certify that I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court for the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by using the appellate CM/ECF system
on (date) .
October 18, 2010
I certify that all participants in the case are registered CM/ECF users and that service will be
accomplished by the appellate CM/ECF system.
*********************************************************************************
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
When Not All Case Participants are Registered for the Appellate CM/ECF System
I hereby certify that I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court for the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by using the appellate CM/ECF system
on (date) .
Participants in the case who are registered CM/ECF users will be served by the appellate
CM/ECF system.
I further certify that some of the participants in the case are not registered CM/ECF users. I
have mailed the foregoing document by First-Class Mail, postage prepaid, or have dispatched it
to a third party commercial carrier for delivery within 3 calendar days to the following
non-CM/ECF participants: