Federal Challenge To Prop 8 Announced

Two very well-known lawyers that once fought each other over the Bush-Gore election result have announced that they will join forces to file a federal challenge to yesterday's California Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8.

Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, who represented then-Vice President Al Gore in the contested election, have joined forces to tackle the same-sex marriage issue, which has deeply divided Californians and left 18,000 gay couples married last year in legal isolation. In a project of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, Olson and Boies have united to represent two same-sex couples filing suit after being denied marriage licenses because of Proposition 8. Their suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court in California, calls for an injunction against the proposition, allowing immediate reinstatement of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

John Aravosis at Americablog has this to say about Ted Olson taking on gay marriage:

Now I've seen everything. Ted Olson. Also known as George Bush's Solicitor General. Also known as the guy who represented George Bush at the Supreme Court in the Bush v. Gore case. Also known as Mr. Burns. The man is pure evil. And he's now representing a gay couple in a legal challenge in federal court to overturn Prop 8. Just called Joe. We're both speechless. It's difficult to explain in words how much each of us loathes Ted Olson. Of course, not any more. But you get the picture. It doesn't get any more conservative and nasty than Ted Olson. And now he's supporting gay marriage. And not just supporting it, but putting his legal muscle behind it. First off, thank you Mr. Olson. Seriously. And to our readers, this just goes to show you that even I can be fooled into thinking that some people are too far gone. As I've written on this blog many a time: Don't write people off, and don't mock people who reach out to the enemy. You'd be surprised what sometimes happens when you treat even bad guys with a modicum of decency.