California high court denies request to halt same-sex marriages

California high court denies request to halt same-sex marriages
Kimberly Bennett at 12:02 PM ET

[JURIST] The California Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday denied [order] the San Diego County clerk's request to halt same-sex marriages in the state, following the US Supreme Court [official website] June ruling in Hollingsworth v. Perry [opinion, PDF]. The decision was issued without comment in a single sentence, stating, "The request for an immediate temporary stay or injunctive relief is denied." County clerk Ernest Dronenburg Jr. sought the stay [JURIST report] on Friday, asking the court to consider his legal argument that same-sex marriages still are illegal in most of California. Dronenburg Jr. argues that the US Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8 applies only to the couples named in the lawsuit and to the clerks in Alameda and Los Angeles counties, where they applied for marriage licenses. Following the US Supreme Court's decision regarding Proposition 8 [text, JURIST news archive], clerks throughout the state must issue licenses to same-sex couples. Dronenburg is in charge of issuing marriage licenses in San Diego County. Last week the California Supreme Court rejected a similar petition [JURIST reports] to block same-sex marriage filed by supporters of Proposition 8. Same-sex marriages resumed in California last month after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dissolved the ban [JURIST report]. The move came after the US Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8 supporters lacked standing to appeal a ruling striking down the ban as unconstitutional.