Prop 8 Supporters Petition For Supreme Court Hearing

The antigay leaders behind Proposition 8 want the U.S. Supreme Court to review the legal challenge to the state-wide constitutional ban on marriage equality approved by California voters in 2008.

The Prop 8 supporters want the Supreme Court to decide whether the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause prohibits California from defining marriage as a heterosexual union, BuzzFeed reports.

In February 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the August 2010 judgment of the Federal District Court that struck down Proposition 8.

According to the 51-page document, the Prop 8 supporters say that "every state and federal appellate court [that has considered] a federal constitutional challenge to state laws defining marriage--including this Court--had upheld the traditional definition, thus permitting the "earnest and profound debate about the morality, legality, and practicality of [redefining marriage] . . . to continue, as it should in a democratic society." That is, until Hollingsworth v. Perry (previously Perry v. Brown), where state and federal level courts have sided with same-sex California couples who are challenging the laws for their right to marry.

The statement also uses a partial quote from President Obama's statement of support for marriage equality as an argument that many people are still not comfortable with the concept of same-sex couples marrying.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights has 30 days to respond to the petition. The court, which is currently in the midst of a summer recess, will then decide whether to take up the case.

AFER's co-lead counsel David Boies said in a statement Tuesday that the petition "presents the Justices with the chance to affirm our Constitution's central promises of liberty, equality, and human dignity." He added that they plan to counter the petition.