Having considered all of the factors set forth in Nken v. Holder, 129 S. Ct. 1749, 1756 (2009), and all of the facts and circumstances surrounding Plaintiffs’ motion to vacate the stay pending appeal, as well as the standard for vacatur set forth in Southeast Alaska Conservation Council v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 472 F.3d 1097, 1101 (9th Cir. 2006), we deny Plaintiffs’ motion at this time.
Courtesy of Prop 8 Trial Tracker
And so, just like that, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals condemns California's gay and lesbian citizens to an indefinite and uncertain wait for equality.
No one really expected the Ninth Circuit to lift their stay, imposed as it was back in August of 2010 after Judge Walker ruled that Proposition 8 was a violation of the US Constitution. Despite the fact that logic, consistency and rules concerning the grounds for stays suggested that the stay was now -- in light of the Ninth's referral of the case to the California Supreme Court -- improper, a lifting of it was always more of a hope and a prayer than a probability.
Nonetheless, this is a glancing blow for those who hoped to see marriage equality in California any time soon. It means that the Ninth Circuit won't issue a ruling in the case until, at the earliest, sometime in 2012. Appeals from that point on, to an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit, or to the US Supreme Court, could take additional years.
People will grow old and die, unable to be married to the one they love, before this case is resolved. Shame on the Ninth Circuit. Shame.
Update: Analysis of Decision via TowelRoad.