Stewart was nominated by California Governor Jerry Brown last month. Stewart is best known as a pioneer in the battle for marriage equality in California. In 2004, she defended then San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for ordering the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

She was a key player in the case against Proposition 8 as she argued for the City of San Francisco against the state’s discriminatory marriage ban.

On Monday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law that redefine’s the state’s marriage laws making them more inclusive and eliminating “outdated” and “biased” language.

The legislation, written by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-sponsored by Attorney General Kamala Harris, aimed to update the state’s Family Code after AFER’s victory at the Supreme Court last year which restored marriage equality in the Golden State. The new law changes the definition of marriage in the state from between a “husband” and “wife” to between two “spouses.”

The bill, SB1306, passed the California State Assembly on a 51-11 vote late in June.

In 2010, The American Foundation for Equal Rights, with its legal team led by Ted Olson and David Boies, secured an unprecedented victory at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California which ruled the state’s discriminatory marriage ban unconstitutional as they violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The decision was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

AFER is currently the primary sponsor of Bostic v. Schaefer, the Virginia marriage equality case currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. On February 13, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found the Commonwealth’s marriage laws unconstitutional.

One year ago today, I stood on the steps of the United States Supreme Court and joined thousands of marriage equality supporters in congratulating our plaintiffs, Paul & Jeff and Kris & Sandy, for their victory in restoring the freedom to marry in California.

Just minutes before that, Edie Windsor became a national hero by ensuring that all loving married same-sex couples across the nation are treated equally and with dignity under federal law.

Take a look back at that exciting day:

Along with the hard work of numerous organizations fighting for marriage equality, we have succeeded in changing the national landscape. An overwhelming majority of Americans support full federal marriage equality, and in the past year over twenty pro-equality rulings have been handed down by courts across the country. The momentum is undeniable.

Though today is a momentous day, we still have much work to accomplish. Thirty states still deny loving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Over eighty federal and state lawsuits have been filed to strike down those discriminatory laws. AFER’s work continues in Virginia with Bostic v. Schaefer.

Our incomparable legal team, led by Ted Olson and David Boies, delivered a decisive victory to our plaintiffs, Tim & Tony and Mary & Carol, at district court. Appealed by the defendants to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, our case is fully briefed, and a decision is expected any day.

Our plaintiffs — and all Virginians and Americans alike — deserve their fundamental right to marry the person whom they love. Pledge your support today by donating to AFER so that we can continue our work in the fight for full federal marriage equality.

It is because of your support that thousands of gay and lesbian couples in California can now can enjoy their basic human right of marriage. All Virginians deserve the same. Your tax-deducitble donation today will ensure that one day soon, all Americans — from Richmond to Los Angeles or Raleigh to Little Rock — can finally have their freedom to marry affirmed.

Sincerely,

Adam D. Umhoefer
Executive Director
American Foundation for Equal Rights

P.S. Sign up for breaking news alerts for our Bostic case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

I stood on the marble steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, excited about what was about to transpire and hopeful about what we would accomplish. We had filed our case against California’s Prop. 8 four years earlier, and making our case before the nation’s highest court was the culmination of our work to that point.

Here’s what it was like that fateful day:

The result of our case for marriage equality affirmed what we knew to be true. In the court of law, where facts and truth are all that matter, there is no defense for denying gay and lesbian Americans the freedom to marry the person they love.

Because of AFER’s case, marriage equality returned to the nation’s most populous state.

The case also helped transform the way our country thinks, feels and talks about marriage equality. Public support nationwide has skyrocketed from 42 percent when we filed the case to an impressive 59 percent today. The Obama Administration, 131 prominent Republicans, over 100 major corporations, and thensome joined in support of our case. Marriage for gay and lesbian couples is no longer seen as a partisan issue; it’s a constitutional right that should not be denied any American.

Now, there is marriage equality or an active court case for marriage equality in all but five states.  For AFER, our work continues in the state that was once home to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and the home of the landmark case that put an end to bans on interracial marriage, Loving v. Virginia.

Battles are won because we fight them. Together, we made our case for marriage equality to the Supreme Court one year ago. Soon, we’ll return to those marble steps, excited about what will transpire and hopeful about what we will accomplish: full marriage equality in all 50 states.

Sincerely,

Adam D. Umhoefer

Executive Director
American Foundation for Equal Rights

Publishers Weekly calls it

Kirkus Reviews praises it as a “gripping narrative” in which “first-rate reporting informs this thrilling narrative.”

Forcing the Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality has been receiving praise in anticipation of its April 22 release. The book is an insider account of AFER’s case against Proposition 8, written by Jo Becker, Pulitzer-Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times:..

Beginning with private conversations among friends and moving all the way to the Supreme Court, Becker constructs the legal story with the privilege of generous access to the plaintiffs and legal team that fought for marriage equality…Becker navigates the vast amount of legal history, backroom conversations, media wrangling, and personal stories with an ease that makes what could otherwise be a demanding or partisan story into learned political journalism. – Publishers Weekly

AFER granted Becker unprecedented behind-the-scenes access as it sought to restore marriage equality in the nation’s most populous state. Her account follows all the players in this historic victory including President Barack Obama, AFER Co-Founding Board Members Chad Griffin, Rob Reiner and Dustin Lance Black,  among others.

Jeffrey Toobin praises Forcing the Spring as a “superb behind-the-scenes.” Former NAACP president Benjamin Todd Jealous calls it “the definitive insider account of one of the greatest civil rights struggles of our times.”

Jo Becker has taught investigative journalism at Princeton University and her work has earned numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize for a Washington Post series she co-authored on Vice President Dick Cheney.

Pre-Order the book:

Hardcover		E-Book
Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Indiebound Powell’s Wal-Mart		Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million eBooks.com Google eBookstore iBookstore		IndieBound Kobo Powell’s

Here’s what happened:

The poster was released, and it’s awesome.

The premiere received a sustained standing ovation.

Standing ovation through the credits! Congrats to everyone for a fantastic premiere #SayIDo pic.twitter.com/xtqr5CIho0

— TheCaseAgainst8 (@TheCaseAgainst8) January 18, 2014

Just saw The Case Against 8 @sundancefest, one of the greatest most emotional docs I’ve ever seen. Thank you @Jzpk4equality #ILoveTedOlson

— Morgan Spurlock (@MorganSpurlock) January 18, 2014

Something I’ve never seen before– standing ovation for the full credits of The Case Against 8. Amazing film. #Sundance

— Amy Letourneau (@amylet) January 18, 2014

The filmmakers, the lawyers, the defendants — audience is giving a lot of love to the CASE AGAINST 8 folks. #Sundance #HBO #AFER

— Alonso Duralde (@ADuralde) January 18, 2014

Cold compress on my eyes after seeing @TheCaseAgainst8 Emotional journey of a film and worth every step. #sundance #afer #equalrights

— Patrick Connolly (@PJConnolly) January 18, 2014

BuzzFeed added it to its list of “21 Sundance Movies You Need To Know About”

The Hollywood Reporter had this to say:

And it took home one of the festival’s top prizes, for best directing of a documentary.

Today the California Supreme Court rejected Prop. 8 Proponents’ last-ditch effort to revive Proposition 8. Following the resumption of marriage equality in California on June 28, Prop. 8 Proponents filed a lawsuit seeking to limit where gay and lesbian couples could marry to only two California counties.

The California Supreme Court’s Order reads:

The motions for judicial notice, entitled “Motion For Judicial Notice In Support Of Preliminary Opposition To Petition For Writ Of Mandate Of Twenty Respondent Clerk-Recorders” (filed July 22, 2013) and “Motion for Judicial Notice In Support of Reply To Preliminary Oppositions to Petition For Writ of Mandate” (filed August 1, 2013), both are granted. The petition for a writ of mandate is denied.

For nearly two months now, gay and lesbian couples have been getting married in all of California’s 58 counties. They have stood in front of their family and friends to declare their love  and commitment to one another.

Today’s ruling is yet another nail in Prop. 8’s coffin and affirms that justice falls on the side of fairness and equality.

One month ago the U.S. Supreme Court decided two landmark marriage equality cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry and United States v. Windsor.

The effects of the twin decisions, announced on June 26, 2013, were felt almost immediately.

Within minutes, a judge stopped the deportation of a Columbian man who is married to an American citizen in New York. Shortly thereafter, a Florida man was the first member of a same-sex couple to receive approval for a permanent resident visa after over 15 years living in the U.S.

Then, two days after the decisions, AFER’s plaintiffs Kris Perry & Sandy Stier and Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo became the first lesbian and gay couples to marry in California since the 2008 passage of Prop. 8 . For each, the moment fulfilled a decade-long dream.

They were joined by hundreds of couples who flocked to San Francisco City Hall that weekend and to their local county registrar the following Monday.

The two cases may be over, but their effect will be felt for years to come. In California and other states with marriage equality, couples can breathe a sigh relief, knowing that they are fully protected by state and federal law. And LGBT youth who have been bullied and harassed because they are labeled as different, will grow up knowing that they are the same as every other American in the eyes of the law.

While many federal departments including the IRS are still figuring out how to apply the ruling, the Social Security Administration is now accepting benefit claims of married same-sex couples and House Republicans will stop defending DOMA in other cases, including a case regarding spousal benefits for gay members of the military.

And for the people living in states that do not yet recognize the freedom to get married for all, there is renewed hope. The tide has shifted and it no longer a question of “if” we will have full federal marriage equality, but “when.”

Proponents’ arguments run contrary to the historic Federal District Court decision that invalidated Prop. 8.  That court held that Prop. 8 violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and issued a statewide order prohibiting the enforcement of Prop. 8.  That order took effect on Friday, June 28, two days after United States Supreme Court’s decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry that restored marriage equality to California.

On Friday, California Attorney General Kamala Harris swiftly responded on behalf of the State by opposing Proponents’ request to immediately stop marriages. Today, the California Supreme Court agreed with the Attorney General, and denied Proponents’ request for an immediate stay of marriages.

In response to Proponents’ filing on Friday, AFER’s distinguished lead co-counsel Theodore B. Olson issued the following statement:

“This latest filing is utterly baseless. The Supreme Court of the United States has rejected the appeal from Judge Walker’s declaration that Proposition 8 violates the federal constitution and the injunction prohibiting state officials from enforcing it. The California Supreme Court itself has confirmed that, when they administer marriages, county clerks are ‘state officers performing state functions and are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the state registrar of vital statistics.’ Any county that defies the federal court’s injunction is at risk not only of contempt of court but also a lawsuit under the federal civil rights laws for which it would be liable for damages and the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees. Proponents’ latest effort to stop loving couples from marrying in California is a desperate and frivolous act.”

(Quoting Lockyer v. City and County of San Francisco (2004) 33 Cal.4th 1055, 1080)

The Attorney General has until Monday, July 22 to file a brief responding to Proponents’ argument that Prop. 8 is still the law in California. Proponents then have until August 1 to file a reply.

AFER will continue to keep you updated with the latest developments as events unfold.