San Francisco wants heads-up on Prop 8

This Friday, the Supreme Court is expected to decide if they are going to consider an appeal of the legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8. To prepare for the impact of the decision, San Francisco has requested “24 hours advance notice” from the Court before issuing the mandate.

While it’s understandable San Francisco wants a bit of warning before throngs of people descend upon City Hall, it’s not clear if advance notice is possible.

If you’re totally lost on where California and the U.S. stand on Prop 8, here’s a quick rundown. Two years ago a federal judge ruled that Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional. The ruling made its way through the courts and landed in the laps of the US Supreme Court who is set to discuss the future of gay marriage in a closed-door meeting this Friday.

The court will decide whether to hear an appeal on Prop 8’s constitutionality. If the court does not approve the appeal and declines the case, the ruling stating it was unconstitutional would finally take effect, making same-sex marriage once again legal in California.

The city attorney’s office in San Francisco sent the letter to the Ninth Circuit stating:

“The San Francisco Police Department would be grateful if the court could provide advance notice of its intention to issue its mandate in this case so that the department can plan for and deploy an adequate number of officers to the areas where protests are likely to occur.”

The letter goes on to mention previous times when same-sex marriage was legal and  the city was “deluged by same sex-couples seeking marriage licenses and ceremonies from the county clerk.”