From Anthony Pugno, general counsel for the Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund, about this morning's Supreme Court decision:
It is widely being mis-reported that the Court ruled against Prop 8. IT DID NOT!
Rather, the Court said it could not reach a decision because California government officials refused to defend the law. So it did not rule on Prop 8's validity.
In doing so, the Court also nullified the Ninth Circuit's ruling against Prop 8, which is a great victory in itself!
So, the voter-passed Constitutional Amendment to protect man-woman marriage remains the law of the land in California, because only an appellate court can strike down a voter proposition statewide.
It would have been tremendously encouraging to have had the Court clearly affirm the right of Californians to defend the indispensable institution of marriage. We didn't get that. But for us troops on the ground, our orders stay the same: continue the fight to preserve marriage — in our parishes, in our families, among our co-workers and friends.
