Eva Paterson at Equality Summit in LA
Eva Paterson spoke this past weekend on Jan. 24 in L.A. at the Equality Summit, an Equality California-sponsored gathering of community leaders committed to winning back marriage equality in California to network, share information and resources, and plan next steps.
In addition to the videos of Eva’s presentation above, you can see other videos and recaps on the EQ blog.
Some other blog posts on the summit at queerty.com, calitics.com and rootsofequality.org.
EJS, Civil Rights Groups File Brief Asking Calif. Supreme Court to Invalidate Prop. 8
The Equal Justice Society joined other civil rights groups today in filing an amicus brief (PDF) with the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because it would mandate discrimination against a minority group and did not follow the process required for fundamental revisions to the California Constitution.
In the amicus brief, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Equal Justice Society, California NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. argue that minority communities cannot be stripped of their fundamental rights by a simple majority vote.
“We would be making a grave mistake to view Proposition 8 as just affecting the LGBT community,” said Eva Paterson, president of the Equal Justice Society. “If the Supreme Court allows Proposition 8 to take effect, it would represent a threat to the rights of people of color and all minorities.”
On Nov. 14, the same groups filed a writ petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the enactment of Proposition 8, but the California Supreme Court on Nov. 20 deferred action on that petition, and invited the petitioners to file an amicus curiae brief.