Source: San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO -- Equal rights organizations today asked the California Supreme Court to block a November ballot initiative that would restore the state's ban on gay marriage, arguing that it was not drafted properly.
In court papers filed with the state's high court, equal rights lawyers insist that backers of the ballot measure did not follow proper procedures for amending the California constitution. The measure would amend the state Constitution to limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman.
"We filed this lawsuit because the sponsors of the initiative haven't followed the very Constitution they're trying to change," said Stephen Bomse, a lawyer assisting equal rights groups in the case, reports San Jose Mercury News.
The lawsuit contends that the initiative petitions circulated to voters before the court ruling were misleading because they declared that the measure would make no change in the marriage laws and would have no fiscal impact.
In a second, more complex challenge to the initiative, the 55-page petition argues that the ballot measure would destroy fundamental rights that cannot be legally altered by a voter initiative.
It argues that the initiative would make changes that would be profound enough to be a "revision" of the state constitution rather than an "amendment." That's an important distinction because a "revision" would require a two-thirds legislative approval before it could be added to the ballot. An "amendment" can be added to the ballot if enough voters sign a petition.
"If enacted, (the November initiative) would eviscerate the principle of equal citizenship for gay and lesbian people and strip the courts of their authority to enforce basic constitutional guarantees," said Stephen Bomse, lawyer for the groups that filed the court papers.
He said the measure would "destabilize our Constitution and our basic government plan ... by establishing that any group may be deprived of equal protection and fundamental rights through a simple majority vote," San Francisco Chronicle reports
The suit was filed by organizations representing gay and lesbian couples in the case that led to the court's May 15 ruling striking down the state law that excluded them from marriage -- a ruling the Nov. 4 initiative would probably reverse if approved.
Like one of the laws that the court overturned, the initiative declares that "only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
The equal rights groups, including Equality California and National Center for Lesbian Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, are asking the Supreme Court to take the measure off the fall ballot until the legal challenge can be resolved.
Court challenges to California ballot initiatives are common, but justices are generally reluctant to strike them from a ballot before an election.
The Alliance Defense Fund, one of the groups backing the ballot measure, said the groups are "desperate to evade democracy."
"The opponents of marriage are willing to use any means necessary to impose their will,"said ADF attorney Glen Lavy.
"First, they used the courts to erase the votes of nearly 5 million Californians who voted to protect marriage," Lavy said, referring to the balloting on Prop. 22. "Now they are trying to silence the people's voice forever. This is just another attempt to force a radical political agenda upon the people of California."
Full article: Gay marriage backers want ban issue off ballot | San Francisco Chronicle
Civil rights groups seek to block California gay marriage ballot | San Jose Mercury News
Gay rights groups ask California Supreme Court to block initiative ... | Los Angeles Times