Meg Whitman, other GOP officials: Overturn Prop 8!

Hewlett-Packard CEO and former California gubernatorial candidate, Meg Whitman, has joined 74 other top ranking republicans in asking the Supreme Court to overturn California’s discriminatory proposition 8.

According to the New York Times,”Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election.”

The brief, which is expected to be filed with the court this week includes other GOP names,”Among…Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. Hadley, a Bush national security adviser; Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary to Mr. Bush; James B. Comey, a top Bush Justice Department official; David A. Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a former member of the House Republican leadership from Ohio who is retired from Congress.”

Whitman signing on to the brief is  especially stunning considering the former ebay chief supported the proposition during her bid for governor.

“Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah governor, who favored civil unions but opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 presidential bid, also signed. Last week, Mr. Huntsman announced his new position in an article titled “Marriage Equality Is a Conservative Cause,” a sign that the 2016 Republican presidential candidates could be divided on the issue for the first time,” the Times reports.

Ken Mehlman, the former GOP chairman who was forced out of the closet by blogger Michael Rogers after supporting several anti-equality issues, tells the paper,”We are trying to say to the court that we are judicial and political conservatives, and it is consistent with our values and philosophy for you to overturn Proposition 8.”

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on March 26th. The justices are also scheduled to hear arguments in a case challenging the so-called “defense of marriage act” the following day.

LGBT groups across the country are planning marches, or similar actions, during the pivotal week to show their support. (Click HERE to learn more.)