It took about eight months before the legal process for the fight became visible in the District Federal Court. Inside the court, a judge accepts witness statements, verifies the evidence, and verifies the basis of the allegations. The judge determined how Prop-7 deprived Chris, Sandy, Jeff and Paul of their civil rights. On August 4, 2010, Chief Justice Von Walker issued a ruling in their favor. It says ProP-7 is unconstitutional and it is hampering the right to same-sex marriage. It was promising and important news. It was a common practice at the time that even if it was amended, it would not be effective until it was appealed to the high court. This legal process is known as ‘stay’.
While I was the Attorney General, a rule was issued in the middle of the year and very soon it was added to the campaign as a national issue. Only the Attorney General of California had the right to appeal this decision. At the time, Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose position I am running for office, refused to fight in court. I myself have made it clear that I will not spend a single penny to protect Prop-7. But the point of view of my opponents was quite the opposite. I realized that it was not only principled, it was realistic. If California refuses to appeal, the lower court may annul the stay and the state may legalize the marriage. But if California appeals, it could take years for the process to begin.
This case was supposed to end with my refusal to appeal when I became Attorney General. However, the plaintiffs of Prop-6 wanted to continue the fight. They themselves decided to appeal to the high court. In my view they had no right to do so. Freedom of expression does not mean that anyone can interfere in the court process. It is not a matter of someone having a deep feeling about something, it is a matter of having to fight a case in the court. You must come up with a clear reason to fight a case in court. In other words, you must suffer in the real sense of something or there will be a risk of suffering.
Chris Parry was preparing to sue the state when he was harmed by Prop-7. It has curtailed his civil rights. Our law states that one American community is completely different from another American community. Which is fundamentally discriminatory. The statement of the constitution is clear in this case. But when Prop-7 was canceled in the court, the court protected a certain community without harming anyone. Those who did not accept same-sex couples in the light of the U.S. Constitution were not doing so because they did not like it. People should always have freedom of expression, but they cannot deny America's fundamental rights if they want to. Even then the case continued. A stay order was issued in the rule. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in their favor more than a year and a half later. The longer it was, the more justice was denied. Due to the delay of one day, one or the other pair could not keep their promise. The grandmother was dying because she could not see her grandson's wedding. Every day the children wondered why my parents were not getting married.
Autobiography of Kamala Harris
From the book The Truth We Hold