Ted Olson: 'Reasonably Confident' High Court Will Overturn Prop 8
Ted Olson:
'Reasonably
Confident'
High Court Will Overturn Prop 8
BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF
PUBLISHED: AUGUST 08, 2010
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Ted Olson said he is 'reasonably
confident' the Supreme Court will overturn California's gay
marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Olson is part of the legal team who challenged the constitutionality
of Proposition 8. On Wednesday, a federal judge found the ban
violated the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples who
wish to marry.
Citing the “overwhelming evidence” his team put forth during a
13-day trial in January, Olson said he's “reasonably confident”
the high court will side with his clients, two gay couples who
have been denied the right to marry because of the gay marriage ban.
Gay rights advocates have cheered the decision and praised the legal
team that won the case, but gay rights groups had previously questioned
Olson's motives.
The 69-year-old former Bush administration solicitor general says
he's a staunch conservative.
Early on in the case, rumblings that Olson was preparing to throw
the case – putting the gay marriage movement behind possibly
decades – were frequently overheard.
But Olson has argued that gay marriage is a conservative value,
noting that he's in favor of keeping the government out of people's
private lives.
Also on Sunday's broadcast, Olson insisted the Prop 8 ruling was
not an example of judicial activism, as critics have charged.
“It is not judicial activism, it is judicial responsibility in its most
classic sense,” he said.
as a heterosexual union. Such a measure would trump a
pro-gay marriage decision by the Supreme Court and repeal
gay marriage laws already approved in five states and the
District of Columbia.
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