Obama urges Supreme Court to overturn Calif. gay marriage ban

The Obama administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban, according to multiple reports.

While the friend of the court brief calls on justices to strike down California's Proposition 8 ballot measure, the Associated Press reports that it stops short of the marriage equality rhetoric Obama expressed in his inaugural address in January.

Obama became the first president to mention gay marriage in an inaugural address, citing the “Stonewall” riots in New York City as a major landmark in the fight for civil rights.

Since then, he has offered an immigration proposal that would give the same benefits to heterosexual and same-sex couples, called on the Boy Scouts to open its membership to gays, and seen the Pentagon announce it would offer certain benefits to same-sex couples.

The high court will hear arguments in March in a case that challenges Proposition 8, which bars same-sex marriage in California.

Following the filing, Attorney General Eric Holder said the government hopes to “vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law.

“Throughout history, we have seen the unjust consequences of decisions and policies rooted in discrimination. The issues before the Supreme Court in this case and the Defense of Marriage Act case are not just important to the tens of thousands of Americans who are being denied equal benefits and rights under our laws, but to our nation as a whole,” Holder said in a statement.

---