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Jubilation muted on gay marriage anniversary

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-17 13:02

Gay couple Helen Alland, 62, (L) and her spouse Linda Laisure, 86, celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary in West Hollywood, California, June 16, 2009. The couple were married when same-sex marriages were first allowed last year. [Agencies]

Late Tuesday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the named defendants, filed his response to the complaint filed by Olson and Boies, saying the lawsuit "presents important constitutional questions that require and warrant judicial determination."

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"Today's filing by Gov. Schwarzenegger bolsters our call for a swift end to the constitutionally intolerable situation created by Proposition 8," said Chad Griffin, board president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the organization backing the plaintiffs.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, another defendant, filed his response last week, saying he agrees that Proposition 8 "imposed a special disability on gays and lesbians and their families on the basis of sexual orientation" in violation of the US Constitution's promise of equal protection and due process.

Schwarzenegger didn't elaborate on the merits of the lawsuit.

Gay couple Robin Tyler (L) and her spouse Diane Olson celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary with a cake in West Hollywood, California, June 16, 2009. The couple were married when same-sex marriages were first allowed last year. [Agencies]

As part of their statewide campaign for the 2010 ballot, gay rights groups say they want to focus on reaching out to more conservative parts of the state that carried Proposition 8 in the last election, as well as protecting existing same-sex marriages.

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