Conservative Calif. County Appeals Prop. 8 Decision

Officials in Southern California's Imperial County, where 70% of voters supported Proposition 8 in 2008, have appealed Judge Vaughn R. Walker's decision in Perry v. Schwarzenegger to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Imperial County board of supervisors voted 4-1 to approve the appeal, though Walker has previously denied the county's attempt to intervene in the suit.

The legal team representing two gay couples who sued the state had argued in court filings that Imperial County does not have standing to sue. "Imperial County fails to satisfy any of the requirements for intervention as of right," the attorneys wrote to the court in December. "Its motion is indisputably untimely, and it lacks any cognizable interest in this case -- much less a significantly protectable one."

Legal observers have questioned whether Prop. 8 proponents including ProtectMarriage.com, which argued in favor of the ballot measure at trial after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to defend it, have standing to appeal the decision to the ninth circuit.

Imperial County is represented by Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a Murrieta, Calif.-based organization. "California voters have the right to vote pursuant to their religious and moral beliefs," the group said in a statement posted on its website. "Judge Walker's determination that Proposition 8 lacked a rational basis is contrary to both well-established precedent and democratic principles."