Contact: Lori Sanada, 951-304-7583 weekdays, 951-500-7854 weekends and evenings
MURRIETA, Calif., June 26, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Supreme Court ruled that the official campaign proponents of Prop 8 do not have legal standing to defend the voter-backed initiative in place of California's Governor or Attorney General. The Supreme Court will send the case back down to a lower court, where Prop 8 was previously declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2010.
Robert Tyler, General Counsel at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, has defended traditional marriage for over ten years. In response to the ruling this morning, Mr. Tyler stated:
"The Court's decision today has failed the people of California because it has the potential effect of nullifying the Citizens of their lawful vote. While we recognize that certain members within our society think that justice has been served, they should consider how they will feel one day when their rightful vote is stripped of meaning on some future issue just because the ruling political party disagrees with the people's vote and chooses not to defend the law. Dangerous precedent has been set that threatens the original intent of a government that exists 'for the people and by the people.'
"Marriage has always been more than just a 'civil relationship.' It has always been an institution intended to promote the optimal setting in which to raise children - one that includes both a mother and father. Though not every marriage between male and female is perfect and some may end in divorce, public policy has always recognized the need to encourage marriage as the building block of society."
Mr. Tyler has worked in defense of traditional marriage since 2000, when California voters passed Proposition 22, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. In 2004, when San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples (even though Prop 22 was still in effect in California), Mr. Tyler was in San Francisco the next day, asking the California Supreme Court for an injunction against Mr. Newsom. This eventually resulted in a permanent injunction against Mr. Newsom and the distribution of same-sex marriage licenses in opposition to the voter-backed Prop 22.
In 2008, after four long years of court battles, the California Superior Court declared Prop 22 unconstitutional under the California State Constitution, but later that year, voters once again backed traditional marriage by passing Prop 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
Since that time, Advocates for Faith & Freedom has defended Prop 8 in the courts, working directly with the Prop 8 Campaign, and seeking intervention on the part of the County of Imperial in the Federal District Court and on the part of Imperial County Clerk, Chuck Storey, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
About Advocates for Faith & Freedom:
Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a nonprofit law firm based in California that provided its legal services in the defense of Prop 8 at no charge. Robert Tyler, General Counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom, was previously involved with ProtectMarriage.com, the passage of Proposition 8 and has been significantly involved in the defense of Proposition 8 (and its predecessor Proposition 22) since 2002.
