Days before the 2008 election, then-candidate Barack Obama said California’s Proposition 8 was “unnecessary” and “not what America’s about.”
Now, some same-sex marriage advocates are hoping Obama’s Justice Department will make a similar argument in court.The federal government is not a party to the Proposition 8 litigation, which pits gay and lesbian couples against supporters of a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. But the Justice Department could weigh in as amicus curiae — either when the case arrives at the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court or, sooner, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Such a decision would typically be up to Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal with input from across the federal government, including the White House.
