The Prop 8 Arguments Are Over, Now It's Up to the Judge
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Some 18,000 gays and lesbians are still legally married in California because they took their vows before Proposition 8 was passed by the voters in 2008. Today, Prop 8 supporters asked that those marriages be nullified. Their main purpose, though, was defense of Prop 8, the ban on same-sex marriage, which is being challenged in federal court. We hear more about today's closing arguments. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, in his first speech from the Oval Office last night, President Obama explained what he called his “battle plan” for the Gulf oil spill. Did he succeed in a broader goal: reassuring Americans that he has the disaster under control? We hear conflicting opinions.
Banner image: Supporters of same-sex marriage carry signs during a rally at San Francisco City Hall following the California Supreme Court's ruling to uphold Proposition 8 May 26, 2009 in San Francisco, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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The Prop 8 Arguments Are Over, Now It's Up to the Judge ()
California voters passed Proposition 8 by a 52% majority in 2008, limiting marriage to one man and one woman, and effectively banning same-sex marriage. In 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld Prop 8, but allowed existing same-sex marriages to stand. In the most recent Constitutional challenge, for two weeks in January, Federal Judge Vaughn Walker heard testimony for and against. Today he heard four hours of closing arguments. In California's 100-year-old initiative process, how often has "the will of the people" been overturned by a judge? Will this case go before the Supreme Court?
Guests:
- Joshua Ferris: author, 'The Unnamed'
- John Eastman: Founding Director, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence
- Ralph Richard Banks: Stanford University
- Patrick Egan: Professor of Politics and Public Policy, New York University
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Main Topic
The Gulf Oil Spill and the Obama Presidency ()
At the White House today, BP agreed to establish a $20 billion trust fund to pay claims from the Gulf oil spill. The fund will be overseen by Kenneth Feinberg, who handled victims' claims in the aftermath of September 11. Last night, in his first speech from the Oval Office President Obama outlined what he called his “battle plan” for the Gulf oil spill.
Guests:
- John Tesvich: President, Ameripure
- Jody Freeman: Director of Environmental Law Program, Harvard Law School
- Tim Dickinson: Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone magazine , @7im
- Walter Shapiro: Speechwriter, then-President Jimmy Carter, @waltershapiroPD
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Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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