AFER retained former United States Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson and David Boies (who worked on opposite sides in Bush v. Gore) to lead the legal team representing the plaintiffs challenging Proposition 8.

Other board members included Dustin Lance Black, Chad Griffin, Jonathan D. Lewis, Ken Mehlman, and Rob Reiner.

Advisory board members include Julian Bond, Dan Choi, Margaret Hoover, Dolores Huerta, Cleve Jones, David Mixner, Stuart Milk, Hilary Rosen, and Judy Shepard.

[8] AFER held a September 2010 event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City co-hosted by prominent Republicans Ken Mehlman, Paul Singer, and Peter Thiel.

[9] The plaintiffs' lead attorneys in the Perry litigation, Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, were from opposite sides of the political spectrum.

The District Court also concluded that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause because it "creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation.

On August 16, 2010, the Ninth Circuit granted Proponents' motion for a stay pending appeal and set an expedited briefing schedule.

[18] The appeal was heard before a three-judge panel: Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Michael Daly Hawkins, and N. Randy Smith.

The panel heard oral argument on December 6, 2010, and was broadcast on television and the Internet, becoming the most watched appellate court proceeding in American history.

"[20] The California Supreme Court agreed to decide the Ninth Circuit's certified question in February 2011, heard oral argument in September 2011, and issued its decision in November 2011.

In answering the Ninth Circuit's certified question, the California Supreme Court held:[21] that when the public officials who ordinarily defend a challenged state law or appeal a judgment invalidating the law decline to do so, under article II, section 8 of the California Constitution and the relevant provisions of the Elections Code, the official proponents of a voter-approved initiative measure are authorized to assert the state's interest in the initiative's validity, enabling the proponents to defend the constitutionality of the initiative and to appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative.In April 2011, while the California Supreme Court was considering the Ninth Circuit's certified question, the proponents of Proposition 8 filed motions to return the video recordings of the trial and to vacate the District Court's judgment invalidating Proposition 8.

[22][23] On September 19, 2011, Chief Judge Ware granted Plaintiffs' cross-motion and ordered the digital video recording of the trial unsealed.

On December 8, 2011, the Ninth Circuit heard another round of oral argument to consider Proponents' appeals regarding the trial recordings and motion to vacate judgment.

Judge Reinhardt wrote:[26] Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California.

Because we find that petitioners do not have standing, we have no authority to decide this case on the merits, and neither did the Ninth Circuit.Justice Anthony M. Kennedy filed a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor.

[35] The court dismissed Governor McDonnell and Attorney General Cuccinelli and an amended complaint was filed on September 3, 2013, that added Janet M. Rainey, in her official capacity as State Registrar of Vital Records, as a defendant.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights joined the lawsuit in September 2013[37] along with two additional plaintiffs, Carol Schall and Mary Townley of Richmond, who were married in California in 2008, were raising a teenage daughter in Virginia,[38] and sought to have their marriage officially recognized by law.

[39] In January 2014, Michele McQuigg, in her official capacity as Prince William County Clerk of Court, successfully intervened in the case as a defendant.

[45] Seeking a swift conclusion to the case in favor of the plaintiffs, defendant Janet M. Rainey also appealed the decision on behalf of the state of Virginia.

[46] On March 10, 2014, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a class of individuals in another case, Harris v. McDonnell, to intervene in Bostic.

[59][60] On October 6, 2014, the court denied all three petitions for writ of certiorari officially and immediately making marriage equality law of the land in Virginia.

[62] AFER, along with Broadway Impact, an organization of theater artists and fans, sponsors 8, a play reenacting the trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

[63] 8 had its world premiere reading on September 19, 2011 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York City, starring Morgan Freeman and John Lithgow.

[64][65] 8 had its West Coast premiere reading on March 3, 2012, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Martin Sheen, and Kevin Bacon.