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Top GOP lawyer sues for same-sex marriage
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05/27/09 06:00 AM ET
Former Bush administration Solicitor General Theodore Olson has joined a lawsuit to seek the repeal of Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative which forbade same-sex marriage in that state.
Olson joined his 2000 opponent in the infamous Bush v. Gore, David Boies, to file suit in a federal circuit court to overturn the proposition, upheld by the California Supreme Court on Tuesday. The suit argues the ban violates the rights of same-sex couples.
"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 the Washington Examiner. "I thought their cause was just."
The suit is a bit of a surprise coming from the Bush administration's top advocate before the Supreme Court -- a noted conservative who was once rumored to be under consideration for the bench.
Olson told the Examiner that it was his hope this case could wind up before the Supreme Court, a body before which he has argued numerous times.
"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," Olson said. "I also personally believe that it is wrong for us to continue to deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."
Olson joined his 2000 opponent in the infamous Bush v. Gore, David Boies, to file suit in a federal circuit court to overturn the proposition, upheld by the California Supreme Court on Tuesday. The suit argues the ban violates the rights of same-sex couples.
"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 the Washington Examiner. "I thought their cause was just."
The suit is a bit of a surprise coming from the Bush administration's top advocate before the Supreme Court -- a noted conservative who was once rumored to be under consideration for the bench.
Olson told the Examiner that it was his hope this case could wind up before the Supreme Court, a body before which he has argued numerous times.
"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," Olson said. "I also personally believe that it is wrong for us to continue to deny rights to individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation."
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