SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Five civil rights groups are seeking to have California's new same-sex marriage ban annulled on the grounds that Proposition 8 threatens the legal standing of all minority groups, not just gays.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, Asian Pacific American Legal Center and two other groups asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to issue a stay preventing the ballot initiative approved by voters last week from taking effect.
The petition is the fourth seeking to have the measure invalidated. But it's the first to argue that the court should step in because the gay marriage ban sets a constitutional precedent that could be used to undermine the rights of racial minorities.
Meanwhile, Proposition 8 was the focus of a legal conference in Berkeley Friday which included members of the California Supreme Court.
KCBS' Janice Wright Reports
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