Sponsors of Prop 8 ask Calif Supreme Court to Nullify Marriages of 18K Same-Sex Couples

The sponsors of Proposition 8 are asking the California Supreme Court to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters last month approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions. 

The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief Friday arguing that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions. 

The campaign submitted the brief in response to three lawsuits seeking to invalidate Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that overruled the court’s decision in May that legalized gay marriage. 

Both Attorney General Jerry Brown and gay rights groups are maintaining that the gay marriage ban may not be applied retroactively. 

The Supreme Court could hear arguments in the cases as soon as March. 

–Associated Press