Imperial County seeks intervention in Perry v. Schwarzenneger to defend Prop. 8

12/15/09 AP:

Imperial County officials want to join the sponsors of California's gay marriage ban in defending Proposition 8 during an upcoming trial. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of an emergency motion Tuesday to intervene in the case. Supervisors say the county's participation is needed because Attorney General Jerry Brown supports overturning the voter-approved measure, while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a neutral position on it.

Here is the County's motion to intervene. Two attorneys of Advocates for Faith & Freedom represent the County - Robert Tyler and Jennifer Monk.

12/17/09 San Diego Gay and Lesbian News:

In this opinion article, Fernando Lopez, Field Coordinator of Marriage Equality USA – San Diego,
faults the Imperial County Board of Supervisors for approving of the motion to intervene:

Here comes the shady part: The motion was passed Tuesday without being clear on the agenda. The public had no time to weigh in on the matter. The case does not affect the running of county business. To top it all off, in less than 24 hours the County had already filed with the court. Sound fishy yet? In their filing, they claim to have brought up the matter in November, but again, a quick investigation into their past agendas shows no clear item to address what is an intensely controversial issue. Let’s just say Imperial Valley residents were quite surprised when they opened their papers this morning, whatever their thoughts on Prop 8 are. Because the timing of the vote is around the holidays, it also seems that the next day for public comments to be heard, will be only 2 days before the court’s deadline and 6 days before the trial begins.