Antigay group
sues California attorney general over petition wording

The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage sued California's attorney general Tuesday over the summary the state prepared for the group's signature-gathering petitions. The lawsuit claims that Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer inaccurately described the measure, which would also strip same-sex couples of domestic-partnership rights. The suit says Locker, a Democrat, highlighted the amendment's effects on registered domestic partners instead of explaining that its chief purpose is to preserve marriage as a union between a man and a woman. "The attorney general has failed to carry out his duty to prepare a neutral, factual title and summary," said Mathew Staver, whose Liberty Counsel law firm is representing VoteYesMarriage.com. Staver wants the court to order Lockyer to revise the petition language. Until the matter is resolved, the group won't be circulating the petitions required to gather the 598,105 signatures it needs to qualify the amendment for the June 2006 ballot. Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar defended the attorney general's summary of the amendment, saying it is a fair representation that a judge is likely to uphold. "The title and summary is 100% accurate in describing what the initiative would do," Dresslar said. "It wipes out registered domestic-partner rights and obligations that currently exist in California law." Meanwhile, a second group that also wants to ban same-sex marriage and do away with domestic-partner rights in California with a constitutional amendment has begun gathering signatures. That amendment is sponsored by a group called ProtectMarriage.com. Elsewhere Tuesday, opponents of marriage equality for gays filed a ballot initiative aimed at amending the Massachusetts constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The initiative would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The measure is part of an effort to overturn same-sex marriage, which the state supreme judicial court legalized in 2003. Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay and lesbian marriages. (AP)