Obama mulls intervention in Supreme Court case on Calif. gay marriage ban

President Obama may formally interject the power of the White House into a Supreme Court case involving California’s ban on same-sex marriage, with the filing of an amicus brief about Proposition 8.

Proposition 8 was a ballot initiative approved by California voters in 2008, banning gay marriage in the state. The state’s highest court then overturned it, setting the stage for what’s taking place now, a showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legal analysts say that if the White House does inject itself into the court proceedings, the message to the nation could be substantial and prove a decision-maker to other states struggling with same-sex marriage legislative issues. In truth, the White House can’t sway the justices with a simple friend-of-the-court brief — but the government does hold influence, just the same, AP says, and the justices do pay attention to executive opinions.

The deadline to file the brief is a week away.

And some see the filing as a sure thing. The president did declare in his inaugural address that gays should be “treated like anyone else under the law,” according to AP.

One unnamed administration official said the president was considering an amicus brief, but had not yet made up his mind, AP reports.

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