Watch Oral Arguments in Prop. 8 Legal Challenge Tomorrow

Tomorrow, March 5, is our big day in court in our legal challenge to Prop. 8. The California Supreme Court will be hearing oral argument from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PST. This is the lawsuit we filed the day after the elections with NCLR, Lambda Legal and Equality California, charging that it was improper to put the issue before the voters in the first place.

Of course this case is important to lesbian and gay couples who have been unable to marry since Prop. 8 passed. But it has tremendous implications for all minority groups in California. The case deals with one of the most important principals of democracy: basic rights can’t be taken from a minority even if that’s what the majority wants to do. Prop. 8 was the first time the initiative process was used to take a fundamental right away from only one group of people. Although Prop. 8 dealt with the rights of lesbian and gay Californians, if allowed to stand, any group that finds itself disfavored by the majority could be targeted in the next election.

The argument can be viewed live tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. PST at http://www.calchannel.com. We will also be posting live updates from the arguments on Twitter.

If you live in the Bay Area, there will be a public viewing at Civic Center Plaza and at the LGBT Center at 1800 Market Street. The ACLU of San Diego is hosting a screening with the LGBT Center at 3909 Centre St., Hillcrest.

Tonight there will be candlelight vigils throughout the state. You can find out what’s happening in your community at Eve of Justice.

You can learn more about the case on our Strauss v. Horton profile page or on the California Supreme Court’s website.