Court urged to listen to gay marriage lawsuits

The state attorney general and sponsors of the ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California urged its Supreme Court to hear a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn the ban, saying the matter is too urgent to be unsettled.

“The petitions raise issues of statewide importance, implicating not only California’s marriage laws but also the initiative process and the Constitution itself,” Attorney General Jerry Brown argued in his filing.