CCC releases statement on Judge Walker's decision to overturn Proposition 8

The following statement was released by Edward E. (Ned) Dolejsi, Executive Director of the California Catholic Conference.

“We are disappointed in Judge Walker’s decision to find Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, a violation of the U.S. constitution.

“As Charles Cooper, the attorney for ProtectMarriage.com, the proponents of Proposition 8 who defended the law, said in his closing arguments:

The historical record leaves no doubt...that the central purpose of marriage in
virtually all societies and at all times has been to channel potentially procreative
sexual relationships into enduring stable unions to increase the likelihood that any
offspring will be raised by the man and woman who brought them into the world.

“That the judge should find the marriage—civilizations’ longstanding public policy—
irrational and discriminatory does a great injustice to the institution itself and
ultimately will further encourage the disintegration of mother-father families.
Homosexuals certainly have every right to the love, companionship and support of
another person—but the Courts do not have a right to distort the meaning of marriage.

“The proponents of Proposition 8 plan to appeal this short-sighted decision to the Ninth
Circuit Court of Appeals where the record created in the trial phase will clearly
demonstrate that the law, the well-being of society, and the public are on the side of
traditional marriage.”.

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