Fed Lawsuit Challenges Gay Marriage Ban

Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - Two attorneys who squared off in the legal battle that decided the 2000 presidential election will team up Wednesday to file a federal lawsuit claiming that the ban on same-sex marriage imposed by the passage of Proposition 8 violates the U.S. Constitution.

Jeff Michael has the video report.

Theodore B. Olson and David Boies plan to file the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of two gay men and two lesbian women, arguing that the proposition violates the U.S. constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process.

The complaint will also ask for an injunction blocking Proposition 8 until the case is resolved -- immediately reinstating marriage rights for same- sex couples.

The attorneys plan to give details of the lawsuit during a news conference Wednesday at the Millenium Biltmore hotel.

In May 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional under the privacy, due process and equal protection guarantees of the California constitution. Proposition 8 was passed by voters in November, amending the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to wed.

The state Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 on Tuesday.

Olson, a former U.S. Solicitor General, represented future President George W. Bush in the legal challenge over the disputed 2000 presidential election. Boies represented then-Vice President Al Gore in that action.