California County Appeals Prop 8 Ruling With Backing Of Christianist Group

Imperial County, in far southern California, has filed an appeal of Judge Vaughn Walker's overturn of Proposition 8, thanks the help of an anti-gay Christianist legal group. But do they have standing to do so?

The County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 earlier in the day to approve the appeal, according to the Imperial Valley Press. Close to 70% of Imperial County voters approved Prop. 8, which enshrined a definition of marriage as between one man and one woman in the state Constitution. Attorneys for official backers of Prop. 8, ProtectMarriage, have appealed the ruling. Walker last week denied Imperial County's effort to intervene in the case, saying the county lacked sufficient interests in the matter to do so. The county, represented by the Christian legal group Advocates for Faith and Freedom, pledged to appeal that denial. Separately on Tuesday, the county filed an appeal challenging Walker's core ruling on Prop. 8's constitutionality. "The personal opinion of a single judge in San Francisco should not be substituted for the opinion of over 7 million voters," Advocates for Faith and Freedom General Counsel Robert Tyler said in a statement. The appellate court will determine whether Imperial County has a right to move forward with its appeal.

Imperial County is mostly desert and has only 140K residents.[Photo credit: Rex Wockner]