Legal rivals file lawsuit for gay marriage

LOS ANGELES, May 27 (UPI) -- Two former legal rivals say they have joined forces to restore gay couples' right to marry in California.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson and David Boies, who opposed each other in the court wrangling over the 2000 presidential election results for George W. Bush and Al Gore, have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two gay couples.

The California Supreme Court this week upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

Their lawsuit seeks to block the gay marriage ban brought by passage of Proposition 8.

Olson, a former Bush administration official, said federal courts might not be ready to recognize sexual orientation as a class in need of protection from discrimination. Boies said Olson is "committed in heart and soul to equality and committed in heart and soul to the constitution."