David Boies Calls Progress On Prop 8 Lawsuit 'Frustratingly Slow'

NEW YORK -- Speaking at the first gay wedding ceremony held in New York's Four Seasons restaurant, lawyer David Boies, who is challenging the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, told HuffPost on Sunday that progress on the case has been "frustratingly slow."

Boies, who is arguing the lawsuit on behalf of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, noted that more than a year has passed since then-U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker struck down Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in California. But the appeals court to which conservative groups took their case after that has yet to rule on whether it will uphold Walker's decision. Same-sex couples cannot currently be married in the state.

"We still don't have a decision," Boies said. "Every day, people's constitutional rights are being restricted."

As Boies spoke, Aretha Franklin was belting out one of her legendary soul songs at the wedding of Bill White and Bryan Eure in Manhattan. The two well-connected New Yorkers made their marriage a high-profile affair to drive home the fact that gay couples in 44 states still don't have the right to marry. White is the former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Eure is a senior vice president at the insurance brokerage Willis.

Celebrities in attendance included Barbara Walters, Lou Dobbs, record label impresario Clive Davis and Oprah confidante Gayle King. Many of New York's political figures attended as well, including former Gov. David Paterson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former Mayor David Dinkins and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

The ceremony was wrapped in patriotic trappings: red, white and blue carpets, flanked by a Navy JROTC color guard, welcomed attendees into the iconic Seagram Building that houses the Four Seasons. Many of the guests inside were veterans friendly with White from his Intrepid days.

Evan Dash, a retired Navy lieutenant commander who was keeping watch over the color guard out front, said its presence at the wedding was sanctioned by the Navy.

"It went up the chain of command," he said. He added that he thought the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, which prevented gay members of the military from serving openly, "was inevitable, and a positive development."

After White was married to his longtime partner, a broad smile stretched across his face. "We're pretty damn lucky to be Americans," he told his guests.

"It's time for the rest of the country to get with the program," he added.

Boies hopes that events like White and Eure's wedding will eventually become "so ordinary that no one would think to comment on it."

When HuffPost asked Davis, who founded Arista Records, if it was particularly appropriate for Aretha Franklin to usher in the first same-sex marriage performed in the Four Seasons, his response underscored Boies's point.

"It's a wedding, isn't it?" Davis said.

View a selection of photos from the wedding:

Comments

[KirkCLinn]

06:47 PM on 10/29/2011

Okay lets sum this up in a fashionable way 2001 on the Ballot in Ca. was the Knight Statute that Stated "marriage shall be between a man and a woman" it passed. 2004 Mayor Gavin Newsom decided to challenge it by ignoring it. CA supreme court invalidated the marriages Performed, but question of the Validity under the Constitution of the Statute was not Decided until May 2008 when The wording was found to be Unconstitutional under The State. They didn't appeal it cause they had A CONSTITUTIONAL amendment (prop 8) working its way on the Ballot with the Same Wording(thereby making it in the constitution). DOMA by the same token could be treated the same if it makes it to SCOTUS with the same wording.

[AnitaMan]

12:10 AM on 10/30/2011

drivel

[larmarch5]

06:15 PM on 10/26/2011

Question for homophobes: Why do YOU care who gets married?

[Faux]

04:12 PM on 10/26/2011

The hope is that it takes so long that the legislatures and people of the States simply make the case moot through the legislative process.

[jcg3918]

12:19 PM on 10/26/2011

POOR BABY WANTS HIS SUGAR AND EAT IT ALSO...THE VOTERS VOTED THIS CRAP DOWN THEY DONT WANT IT...BUT, THESE FOOLS NEED TO MARRY JUST LIKE REAL FOLKS...THEY WANT TO FEEL ACCEPTED BY ALL...WRONG.....

[bearchao]

12:46 PM on 10/26/2011

Oh, just go away already.

[jamat37]

04:07 PM on 10/26/2011

Never wandered far from your trailer, eh?

[lambdin1]

11:40 AM on 10/26/2011

I was startled by the name Lou Dobbs. That would be the last place I'd expect to see him!

[larmarch5]

06:16 PM on 10/26/2011

He doesn't care as long as they aren't Mexicans.

[George Melby]

09:02 AM on 10/26/2011

Congratulations and all the best to the newly married couple!
Dakotahgeo, M.Div. Pastor/Chaplain

[xenas mom]

06:46 PM on 10/26/2011

Hi George, You asked in another post about California's Supreme Court and Prop 8. It's a really really complicated and confusing case. There is a really good website that is devoted to all things regarding marriage equality in California, Prop 8, and marriage equality topics from other areas--it's the Prop 8 Trial Tracker. There's also a timeline about the case, I think. As to your question: "this is a state's rights case. It should only go to the CA Supreme Court, correct?" Actually, no. It's already been to the California Supreme Court, which ruled that the proposition was executed appropriately for a constitutional amendment, and that the existing marriages entered into between June-November 2008 would stand. We are one of those couples. David Boies is one of the attorneys who represented two couples as plaintiffs in the federal trial, Perry v Schwarzenegger, now Brown. Judge Walker ruled that Prop 8 is unconstitutional; the anti-marriage equality people appealed; there are questions as to whether they have standing, and that is currently awaiting a decision from the CA Supreme Court, which is expected around the first of the year. Then it goes back to the federal appeals court. As I said, it's complicated and confusing. Hope this helps a little; the Prop 8 Trial Tracker website should answer all your questions.

[Mikeygr]

11:23 AM on 10/27/2011

Helpful and informative as always. :-)

[relentless63]

07:51 AM on 10/26/2011

It’s too easy to say be patient, when it’s not your rights being trampled. Life is so short and when I think of judges, stuck in the past, insisting that people who love each other can’t marry, haven’t the right to be happy, or miserable like the rest of us, it saddens me.

[DaveinSF]

07:05 AM on 10/26/2011

The issues here go far beyond just California, There are thousands of binational same sex couples (including us) who have had to move overseas just to be the person we are LEAGALLY MARRIED to. The right wing / American Evangelical Taliban opposition to marriage equality has nothing to do with God. The bible has 8 verses that condem Homsexual behavior and over 360 that clearly condem every kind of common place heterosexual behavior. (It's not that God doesn't love straight people, but clearly feels they need more supervison...) This is about the wingnut right in America desperate to hold on to having one group that is is still safe to demonize and hate. One group it is still ok for them to tell insane lies about so scared gullible bigots will gve them money. If you honestly believe that MY marriage impacts your life in ANY way, you are an idiot, and lack the basic common sense God gave geese.

[Contact1972]

06:03 PM on 10/26/2011

There are thousands of binational same sex couples (including us) who have had to move overseas just to be the person we are LEAGALLY MARRIED to.
**************************************************************************
Exactly! We should not have to live in exile or have our families ripped apart.

[Mikeygr]

11:26 AM on 10/27/2011

I've said it before......for conservatives, it is "Who do you have to hate this week in order to feel self-righteous?"

[Foodgrade]

11:05 PM on 10/25/2011

Well, you can't expect to get a gay judge in every step of the process. Be patient.

[bluntobject]

01:27 AM on 10/26/2011

Well....I guess all hetero defendants can't expect to get a hetero judge in every step of their trials either. Implying that Walker's decision was based on his own sexuality instead of the rule of law?

[Foodgrade]

09:41 PM on 10/26/2011

Probably. Judges of all stripes "judge" for the result they want, not necessarily the law. Our "justice" system is very corrupt in case you haven't noticed. Yeah, you were lucky to have a gay judge. Someone else is lucky to have a judge that agrees with whatever THEY are in court for. It helps.

[ThomasRyanAlex]

02:39 AM on 10/26/2011

Judge Ware wasn't Gay.

[Cacey]

07:43 AM on 10/26/2011

No, but Judge Walker is.

[Wayne Peterson]

08:05 PM on 10/25/2011

No problem.....fly to NY and be married legally. NY stands to collect $100 million per year from gay marriage. Then the supreme court can sort out the equal protection clause as it applies to;
a.) heterosexual couples validly married in California;
b.) heterosexual couples validly married outside California but recognized by California;
c.) Same sex couples validly married in California prior to Prop 8;
d.) Same sex couples denied marriage because of Prop 8;
e.) Same sex couples validly married in another state but not recognized by California.
How fun it will be to see how "Equal" is "Equal"!!!!!

[ThomasRyanAlex]

02:40 AM on 10/26/2011

and f through z.

[Cacey]

07:37 AM on 10/26/2011

f.) Same sex couples validly married in Canada, the UK, Mexico City, Argentina, Spain, etc.

[outloud]

05:37 PM on 10/25/2011

While these two have the prerogative to spend that obscenely large amount of money on their wedding, I do hope they are also doing things such as financially supporting the well being of homeless GLBTQ kids in NY.

Some one please tell me they aren't log cabin republican'ts.

[ThomasRyanAlex]

02:41 AM on 10/26/2011

Woah. First its Republicans. And second, what does that have to do with supporting homeless to be homeless?

[eyecon]

03:59 PM on 10/25/2011

Just to be clear it is not the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that is frustrating progress. It is the California Supreme Court that has now required about a year to determine if "Protect California" even has standing to argue the case. If they do not then Prop 8 is HISTORY. I expect that they are going to punt the ball back to the Ninth Circuit with an ambiguous ruling. In any event Bill White is a classy guy and he had a classy affair. Good for him.

[MrStat1]

05:10 PM on 10/25/2011

The Supreme Court will have the final say on this.

[Cacey]

06:40 PM on 10/25/2011

Actually not. Should the Supremes declare gay marriage illegal today, it, like the 1988 ruling which said there was not a right to privacy will be reversed as was that decison less than two decades later in the Texas decision that said their was. While the initial decision was backed by a minority of Americans, thanks to a new generation, the reversal would be backed by a sizeable majority.

[Syl 13]

12:24 AM on 10/26/2011

I hope not, at least with Alito, Roberts, Scalia and Thomas on the court...unless Kennedy pulls through for us, and he's a flip-flopper.

[StevenWells]

05:48 PM on 10/25/2011

Some will drag their feet every inch of the way, even though it's clear the destination will ultimately be reached, just trying to stall the inevitable.

[Bill J4321]

03:42 PM on 10/25/2011

Gosh, 'christians.' Just take a look at those photos. Of two people. In love. Getting married.

Can't you just TASTE the evil????!!!!!!!

[Valksy]

04:24 PM on 10/25/2011

But their desert pixie and his zombie son say it's wrong....

Frankly, at this stage the Prop H8 proponents should be censured for perpetuating a frivolous lawsuit. They have demonstrated, over and over, that they have no cogent secular argument and right now all they are doing is dragging their heels to do as much harm and waste as much money as they can.

Christian? What a joke.

[bluntobject]

01:35 AM on 10/26/2011

Exactly! In the 2011 Winter Collection, Christian is the New Crazy. Shoes and Bag must match, of course.

[George Melby]

09:12 AM on 10/26/2011

Heh heh heh... thank you, Bill!