Attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, who are challenging the anti-same-sex measure Prop 8, asked U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker Aug. 14 to stop three gay-rights groups from being parties in the case, according to the San Francisco Appeal.
Walker honored the attorneys’ request Aug. 19, denying the request of Our Family Coalition; Lavender Seniors of the East Bay; and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to join Perry v. Schwarzenegger, eNewsPF.com reported.
Olson and Boies explained in their request that ” [h] aving declined to bring their own federal challenge to Proposition 8, Our Family Coalition and their counsel should not be allowed to usurp plaintiffs’ lawsuit now that it is under way and moving forward on an expedited basis.”
Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Lesbian Rights—which represented OFC, Lavender Seniors and PFLAG— issued a joint statement expressing their disappointment with Walker’s ruling: “On behalf of our clients, we are disappointed that the court did not permit organizations that represent California’s diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to participate in the case as the Court weighs the harms inflicted by Proposition 8. The significance of this case for our entire community is enormous. To exclude the people whose very freedom is at stake is troubling.”