WASHINGTON — Snowmelt puddled at the Supreme Court steps Monday as more than 50 people prepared to spend a damp night on the sidewalk, burrowed in blankets against the freezing rain, to ensure a seat inside the courtroom when lawyers
WASHINGTON — Snowmelt puddled at the Supreme Court steps Monday as more than 50 people prepared to spend a damp night on the sidewalk, burrowed in blankets against the freezing rain, to ensure a seat inside the courtroom when lawyers argue for and against Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban.
Some campers had been huddled under tarps and umbrellas for nearly a week, sustained by pizza, doughnuts and coffee passed out by friends and well-wishers.
Jason Wonacott arrived on Friday hoping to be first in line, only to find 12 people ahead of him. He said that risking hypothermia and pecking out blog entries on his iPhone under a poncho would be one way to show his dedication to the cause of gay marriage.
“You have to be willing to do something bold and maybe a little bit crazy to show it is important,” said Wonacott, who is gay and works as a public relations consultant in Washington.
Wonacott, 25, grew up in Benicia, outside San Francisco. He hopes the justices overturn Proposition 8 so that he can eventually be married in his home state. “It’s my way to fight the fight,” he said.
Voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008 to overturn a state Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage. A federal district court judge and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later invalidated Proposition 8. The 9th Circuit ruling is on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The Supreme Court doesn’t allow live television broadcasts of its sessions, so lining up is the only way to see the justices’ gestures and body language as they hear arguments and ask questions. Audio recordings of the arguments are usually released by the court within hours of each hearing.
On most mornings when the court is in session, the line begins to form about 7 a.m. Overnight camp-outs form every few years for high-profile cases on hot issues, such as the Affordable Care Act or detentions at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The first 60 people in line when the chamber opens are very likely to get seats, a court spokesman said.
After the justices hear debate about Proposition 8 on Tuesday, they will hear another set of arguments Wednesday about the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, in which Congress withheld federal recognition of same-sex unions. Some of the bone-chilled people on the sidewalk are hoping to be in the courtroom to hear both cases.
Nate Oppman, 27, looks to Genesis for the definition of marriage. “Marriage is crucial for the future of society,” he said, lying under a green tarp farther down the line. God created marriage to be between a man and a woman when he created Adam and Eve, Oppman said.
Oppman and his wife, Joy, have been married a year and a half and live in Washington, D.C. She packed him off to the court with a parka that has a battery-powered heating coil in the lining. “You’d think I was going to Alaska,” he said.
Oppman grew up in Iowa, where same-sex marriage became legal in 2009 after a state Supreme Court ruling. He said he doesn’t want to see that precedent extended to other states.
He has been rotating with six friends who hold one another’s places in line during runs to change into dry clothes, buy hand warmers and charge cellphones.
Others have hired people to hold their places. Anthony Brown, 57, who is No. 11 in line, usually works as a home health aide but is between jobs. A friend called him on Sunday to see whether he would be willing save a spot at the Supreme Court. He doesn’t know who he is holding the place for, Brown said, but he’ll be paid his usual rate — $15 a hour.
