Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo urged the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday morning to join the legal fight against Proposition 8, the measure approved by California voters to ban same-sex marriage.
Delgadillo was joined by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrara, who filed the original lawsuit that led the California Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage, a decision overturned by voters last week. Delgadillo says Prop 8 "strips away minority rights" and Herrera said it has created a constitutional crisis.
Both argued that rather than amending the state constitution, it amounts to a revision of it, which requires action from the state legislature before going to the voters.
Also speaking before the Supervisors were Pastors Zelda Kennedy and Susan Russell from All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, a church that has performed same sex marriages.
A motion was introduced by Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky to join the lawsuit against Prop 8.
Supervisor Michael Antonovich, one of two Republicans on the board, said he would oppose such a motion, but was out of town and unable to vote on the matter, according to Tony Bell, his spokesman.
"The appropriate time to have raised legal objections was prior to the election -- not after the people have once again voted on the issue," Antonovich said in a statement. "This move will disenfranchise voters who turned out in record numbers to participate in the process and have their voices heard."
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Bell requested that the item be delayed until next week's meeting, but his motion was defeated.
"It's a shame that they wouldn't wait a week to allow all of the supervisors to weigh in on it," Bell said.
A lawyer for the county cautioned board members Wednesday that it was difficult to predict how the Supreme Court would handle the legal challenges.
