Prop 8 trial: New brief filed citing Ed & Derence and delay in the case
By Adam Bink
A new brief filed by Love Honor Cherish in the case, opposing a rehearing by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was recently filed. In it is this:
Plaintiffs and Plaintiff-Intervenor have prosecuted this case diligently and have argued emphatically for expedited consideration at every stage in this lawsuit. Recognizing this urgency, this Court’s motions panel gave the case expedited consideration in the same order in which it stayed enforcement of the District Court’s injunction. To encumber the fundamental right to marry through protracted litigation is tantamount to depriving gay and lesbians couples of that right. For some, this deprivation will be permanent. In the time that this litigation has been pending,many gay and lesbian couples have quite literally not lived to see the day when they could get married. These words are not just rhetoric. The harm wrought by this years-long delay in resolving the status of marriage equality is tragically illustrated by the case of Derence Kernek and Ed Watson, a couple in their late seventies who had been in a loving relationship for over forty years. Ed was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in summer 2010, and his mental condition was deteriorating rapidly. Derence and Ed posted a video on the Internet in which they expressed their hope that they could be married while Ed’s health still permitted. Unfortunately, Ed passed away shortly thereafter, on December 7, 2011. They were never able to marry.Undoubtedly, there are countless other loving couples like Ed and Derence who will not be able to marry in their lifetimes – or do so in the presence of their family and friends – because of the duration of this case. Indeed, members of Love Honor Cherish have experienced the heartbreak of the fact that life is not eternal.
The full brief can be found here, or embedded below. It’s fairly short and to the point.
