Obama administration urges SCOTUS to overturn Prop 8

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The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court Thursday to declare California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, coming down firmly on the side of same-sex marriage while stopping short of advocating for a nation-wide legalization.

In a "friend of the court" brief filed at the deadline, Solicitor General Don Verrilli argues:

Under that argument, Verrilli said, same-sex marriage in seven other states with broad domestic partnership rights already on the books would also immediately become legal.

The so-called "eight state solution" would cover: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.

That logic could, in theory, challenge bans on same-sex marriage in states that have constitutional bans.

Proposition 8 was originally passed by California voters in November 2008 to deny same-sex couples the right to marry after the California courts had ruled gay marriage legal. Thus, thousands of California gay couples hold legal marriages in the state, while for others marriage is inaccessible, thus providing the argument made by the Ninth Circuit Court in overturning the measure.

Nine states and the District of Columbia already allow same-sex marriage, five by state legislature (Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington), three by court rulings (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts) and one by voter-approved ballot (Maine).

Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae supporting respondents by