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VIDEO: California AG Kamala Harris on "Maddow", "PBS Newshour"

On Monday, R20 posted California Attorney General Kamala Harris' fierce defense of the Constitution and equality on CNN. AG Harris appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show and on PBS' Newshour yesterday to discuss the Supreme Court's historic oral arguments on Proposition 8.

Harris is the former San Francisco District Attorney and a veteran equality advocate. Speaking in December 2010 at her first news conference as Attorney General-Elect, you'll recall she reiterated a core campaign promise: "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional."

"I ran on that and my opponent promised to uphold Prop 8," AG Harris told Maddow. "I won that election. I'm the daughter of parents who wer active in the civil rights movement. I'm not going to stand in the doorway of the wedding chapel and block same-sex couples' ability to marry."

Fierceness, thy name is Kamala Harris. The segment begins at  around 12:30. Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

 

VIDEO: California Attorney General Kamala Harris Slams Prop 8 on CNN

California Attorney General Kamala Harris for the win. AG Harris delivered a fierce defense of the Constitution and equality after CNN's Candy Crowley demanded answers on why the State of California refused to defend Proposition 8. "It is one thing to read the polls ... but it is more important to read the Constitution," said AG Harris.

"I am absolutely against a ban on same-sex marriages because [bans] are simply unconstitutional. It is one thing to read the polls, which we have discussed which show again that a majority of Americans are in favor of same sex marriage, but it is more important to read the Constitution. The Constitution of the United States dictates, I believe, under every court precedent that we have discussed in terms of describing marriage as a fundamental right that the same-sex couples that are before the United states supreme court — Mrs. Windsor, Miss Perry — be allowed to have equal protection under the laws as any Americans when it comes to their ability to join themselves with their loving partners in marriage and raise their children. And 61% of Californians are in favor of same-sex marriage."

Harris is the former San Francisco District Attorney and a veteran equality advocate. Speaking in December 2010 at her first news conference as Attorney General-Elect, you'll recall she reiterated a core campaign promise: "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional."

Via Think Progress, watch the fierceness AFTER THE JUMP ...

REPORT: Black Conservative Ward Connerly Investigated for Finances

Controversial conservative Black businessman Ward Connerly is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and California Attorney General Kamala Harris, according to the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. Connerly has lead efforts to end affirmative action nationwide.

The accusations of financial mismanagement come from former employee Jennifer Gratz, the plaintiff in the landmark 2003 Supreme Court case that struck down race-based admissions at the University of Michigan.

In the letter, sent by her attorney to the board of Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute, Gratz said the organization and an affiliated advocacy group were in financial crisis. She urged the board to look into irregularities, including annual compensation to Connerly that in recent years amounted to more than $1 million. The letter also said that the Internal Revenue Service and California attorney general's office were investigating related salary, financial and ethical issues involving Connerly's organizations. ...

In an interview Wednesday, Connerly, 72, acknowledged that the American Civil Rights Institute has had financial difficulty in recent years, and that his annual compensation at times has amounted to more than half its revenues. Tax records show that Connerly reported $1.3 million in total compensation for the fiscal year ending June 2010, for example.

Gratz and Connerly worked together for the passage of Michigan's Proposal 2, which "banned race and gender preferences in public education, public hiring and public contracting. Proposal 2 was passed by Michigan voters in 2006 but overturned in an appeals court ruling last year," reports AnnArbor.com.

The former University of California regent gained nationwide attention in 1995 after supporting a successful ballot initiative barring California's public institutions from considering race or gender. In recent years Connerly has publicly supported gay rights and marriage equality. The Black conservative first came out for gay rights in July 2008. Four months later Connerly wrote an op-ed against Proposition 8.

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California AG Kamala Harris Argues Against Prop 8 Sponsors' Standing

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has submitted an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court, arguing that Prop 8 sponsors do not have the "standing" to defend it in court, reports the AP.

In [the brief], she argued that only public officials exercising the executive power of government have authority to represent the state when laws passed by voters or the Legislature are challenged. "California law affords an initiative’s proponents no right to defend the validity of a successful initiative measure based only on their role in launching an initiative process," Harris wrote. [...]

Lawyers for the coalition of religious and conservative groups that qualified the gay marriage measure for the ballot and campaigned for its passage have argued that initiative proponents need to be allowed to advocate for laws in court to prevent elected officials from effectively vetoing measures by not defending them in court.

Harris contended in her brief that rather than empowering citizens, granting the sponsors of initiatives the ability to overrule the governor and attorney general’s judgment "would rob the electors of power by taking the executive power from elected officials and placing it instead in the hands of a few highly motivated but politically unaccountable individuals."

Harris is the former San Francisco District Attorney and a veteran equality advocate. Speaking in December 2010 at her first news conference as Attorney General-Elect, you'll recall she reiterated a core campaign promise: "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional."

On January 4, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals punted the appeal of the landmark Prop 8 ruling to the California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court must first decide if Prop 8's sponsors can defend the ban. A hearing is expected soon.

California AG Kamala Harris Asks Court to Lift Stay on Marriages

California Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a request with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow same-sex marriages while it considers whether to overturn Proposition 8, the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban.

The Associated Press:

In a letter to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Harris joined the lawyers for two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco in seeking the resumption of gay marriages in California. The unions were put on hold while Proposition 8's sponsors appeal a trial judge's ruling striking down the ban.

Harris said those sponsors were unlikely to prevail in their appeal and that keeping the ban in effect was a fruitless violation of gay Californians' civil rights. "The public interest weighs heavily against the government sanctioning such discrimination by permitting it to continue," she wrote.  Harris also said the case for allowing gay marriages was bolstered by the Obama administration's announcement last week that it would no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Harris is the former San Francisco District Attorney and a veteran equality advocate. Speaking in December 2010 at her first news conference as Attorney General-Elect, you'll recall that Harris reiterated a core campaign promise: "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional."

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing the constitutionality of Proposition 8. But first the California Supreme Court must decide if Prop 8's sponsors can defend the ban.

In related news: On the same day that California AG Kamala Harris filed her request with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court has refused to expedite its timeline to rule on whether anti-gay groups have "standing" to defend Prop 8, which it agreed to do two weeks ago. The hearing is scheduled for September and the court will not move it up.

9th Circuit Asks CA Supremes for Ruling Re: "Standing" on Prop 8

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has punted the appeal of the landmark ruling on Prop 8 to the California Supreme Court.

The three-judge panel has asked the California Supreme Court to rule on the question of "standing"—can the supporters of voter-approved marriage ban defend the measure in court when state officials refuse to do so. The question is key to the future of Proposition 8. You'll recall former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-Attorney General Jerry Brown refused to appeal Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's decision striking down the ban as unconstitutional. Newly inaugurated Governor Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris also refuse to defend the ballot measure.

In a separate order, the court ruled that conservative Imperial County—which overwhelmingly voted for Proposition 8—lacked standing to appeal the decision.

Posting the certs ASAP ...

Is California Atty Genl Kamala Harris the Democrats' "Anti-Palin"?

That's the word from Ben Smith at Politico:

"When she broke out of a six-candidate primary field in the race for attorney general, the San Francisco prosecutor won big endorsements from party heavyweights, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, as well as endorsements from labor unions like the Service Employees International Union and most of California’s top newspapers. She also was the only down-ballot Democrat for whom President Obama raised funds this year.

"That level of support — coupled with glowing profiles in national magazines like Ebony and The Daily Beast, as well as appearances on MSNBC’s Morning Joe and a Matt Lauer interview on Today — lead top Democrats to predict she will soon become a household name. 'She’s a rare talent who will be a national figure shortly,' said Chris Lehane, a former Clinton aide who is now a consultant in California. 'People call her the female Obama. It’s more apt to say she is the female Obama that progressives thought they were voting for.' ...

 And the inevitable comparisons to the President.

"Both are mixed-race children of immigrants raised by a single mother; both are eloquent, telegenic big-city lawyers with strong liberal credentials who catapulted from relative obscurity to the national stage. And like the first African-American president, Harris has broken a long-standing barrier — she’s California’s first African-American attorney general and the first woman to hold the office."

Harris and Governor-Elect Jerry Brown, both veteran champions of LGBT rights, campaigned  against appealing Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's landmark ruling on Prop 8. Haris reiterated this at her first news conference when she formally declared victory. "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional. One does not need to run from their convictions when they choose to run for office."

Read the full profile at Politico ...

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Oral Arguments Begin in Appeals Court Proposition 8 Hearing

This morning in San Francisco, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals begins hearing oral arguments in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the landmark federal challenge to Proposition 8.  In August, Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban, finding that it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The Associated Press previews today's hearing:

The hearing on Monday will unfold in two parts and cover two issues. The first is the question of legal standing: the major defendants in the case — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown — have opted not to defend the measure, leaving the defense to groups like [the Alliance Defense Fund].

Mr. Brown was elected governor last month, meaning the state’s next chief executive will not support the ban. David Boies, the veteran Washington lawyer challenging the measure, said that proponents would need to prove that their lives were being directly, and substantially, harmed by Judge Walker’s decision in order to prove their standing. "It’s not enough that you have a policy disagreement," Mr. Boies said.

While the state has opted out of the defense, in September, officials in Imperial County — a rural area east of Los Angeles that has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state — filed briefs to defend the measure, saying that Judge Walker had disregarded the will of California’s voters, who passed Proposition 8 in 2008 with 52 percent of the vote.

The judges will spend the second part of Monday’s hearing on the actual legality of Proposition 8. Opponents have argued — and Judge Walker agreed — that voters had no legitimate state interest in defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, and provided more than a dozen witnesses during testimony in January to back up their case. Supporters of the measure offered two witnesses.

The San Francisco Chronicle outlines the next steps in the federal appeals process for the case that almost certainly will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The hearing will be televised on C-SPAN beginning at 1:00PM ET.

There are also several informative backgrounders on today's hearings. MetroWeekly's Chris Geidner posts an excellent "Prop 8 Argument Day FAQ." Liz Newcomb at AMERICABlog Gay posted a backgrounder with the key documents. Lisa Keen at Keen News Service also wrote a "Viewers’ Guide to Prop 8 Arguments."

WATCH: California AG Kamala Harris: "We Will Not Defend Prop 8"

Speaking at her first news conference since the November 2 election, California Attorney General-elect Kamala Harris formally declared victory. The San Francisco District Attorney led her Republican opponent, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley "by 75,033 votes as of today," reports SFAppeal.com. "Cooley conceded defeat last Wednesday, but Harris declined to declare victory until all the votes were counted."

And to much applause, Harris reiterated one of the core platforms of her campaign: "We will not defend Proposition 8 because it is simply unconstitutional. One does not need to run from their convictions when they choose to run for office."

Cooley promised to defend Prop 8 in court. Harris and Governor-Elect Jerry Brown both promised not to appeal the landmark ruling. And they won. Harris won Cooley's Los Angeles County by 14 points.

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the Proposition 8 proponents' appeal of Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's landmark ruling. The hearing will be televised.

Watch, WHEN YOU JUMP ....

 

SF Chron Editorial on Kamala Harris' Win as California Attorney General

The San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News applaud the victory of Proposition 8 opponent Kamala Harris as California's next attorney general. The Democratic San Francisco District Attorney General's win was certified last week, some three weeks after the Nov. 2 election against Republican Los Angeles County DA Steve Cooley. Harris, who is biracial and a veteran champion of LGBT rights, becomes the state's first female attorney general and the nation's first Black female attorney general.

The Mercury News:

"Cooley ... seemed like a shoo-in for California attorney general. He'd handily won L.A. County elections. But those were nonpartisan races. On the state ballot, Cooley had an R next to his name -- apparently a scarlet letter on several levels in California. The tea party anger and no-to-everything obstructionism of the national GOP, even when it's clearly at the expense of the public good, may or may not be a long-range winner. But here, voters clearly prefer the olden days when parties compromised to make progress."

Harris and Governor-Elect Jerry Brown have promised not to defend Prop 8 in court or appeal the landmark ruling that found the ballot initiative to be unconstitutional. The Chronicle suggests Harris' anti-Prop 8 stance and "expansive vision" of the attorney general's role helped her win.

"Most analysts regarded Cooley as the surest bet on the Republican ticket, even in a Democratic state. He kept to a meat-and-potatoes platform that emphasized the office's crime-and-punishment duties - accentuating his eagerness to inflict the death penalty - and to dial back what he regarded as Attorney General Jerry Brown's aggressive interpretation of his discretion to enforce and ignore laws passed by legislators and voters.

"California voters, however, had other ideas. They chose Harris, the 46-year-old career prosecutor with the more thoughtful and expansive vision of the role of an attorney general. As with Brown, Harris said she would not defend laws she regarded as blatantly unconstitutional (such as Prop. 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage) and would help assure the implementation of the state's landmark climate-change law. Harris pledged to enforce the state's death penalty law despite her personal opposition to it - but she repeatedly and correctly reminded voters that it was not the most pressing criminal-justice issue in the state."

Kamala Harris served Cooley lunch in his own backyard, too. Harris won Los Angeles County by a huge 14 points.

Harris' victory comes less than two weeks before the Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments on December 6 in the Prop 8 proponents' appeal of Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling. That hearing will be televised.

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