Gay rights
activists asked California's highest court Friday to keep
off the November ballot a citizens' initiative that
would again ban same-sex marriage. Lawyers for
Equality California filed a petition arguing that the
proposed amendment to the California constitution should be
invalidated because its impact was not made clear to the
millions of voters who signed petitions to qualify the
measure before the state supreme court legalized
same-sex unions. ''This court has recognized that gay
and lesbian couples have a fundamental right to marry, and
as of June 16 such couples have been getting married
across the state,'' the petition states.
''Rather than
effecting 'no change' in existing California law, the
proposed initiative would dramatically change existing law
by taking that fundamental right away and inscribing
discrimination based on a suspect classification into
our state constitution.''
The petition also
claims the so-called California Marriage Protection Act
should be disqualified because it would revise, rather than
amend, the state constitution by altering its
fundamental guarantee of equality for all -- in
essence writing a law the state high court has already found
unconstitutional into the constitution.
''If enacted, it
would alter the underlying principles on which the
California constitution is based and make far-reaching
changes in the nature of our basic government plan, by
severely compromising the core constitutional
principle of equal citizenship (and) ... by destroying the
courts' quintessential power and role of protecting
minorities,'' it states.
Unlike a
constitutional amendment that can be approved by voters, a
constitutional revision requires convening a constitutional
convention or the appointment of a commission to
recommend changes to the legislature and voters,
according to the petition submitted by same-sex marriage
supporters.
''For good
reason, there's a strict process for making revisions to our
constitution, and it's more involved than simply collecting
petition signatures,'' said attorney Stephen Bomse in
a statement posted on the website of the National
Center for Lesbian Rights, another petitioner in the
case.
''That process is
in place to safeguard our basic form of government,
especially the most basic principle of equal protection of
the laws.''
The petition
names Secretary of State Debra Bowen and the measure's
sponsors, a coalition of religious and social conservative
groups called ProtectMarriage.com, as defendants.
Since Bowen's
office already has certified the amendment for the fall
election, a spokeswoman says she can remove it only through
a court order.
''She has a
ministerial duty to certify any initiative when they qualify
through the petition process, and she can't remove an
initiative without a judge's order,'' said Kate
Folmar, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state.
The last time the
state supreme court was asked to decide if a
proposition should remain on the ballot was 2005, when it
did so twice. In both decisions, the propositions were
allowed to stay on the special election ballot.
In both 2005
cases, the state supreme court overturned lower courts who
had taken the propositions off the ballot. The propositions
were a redistricting initiative backed by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and another that would have reregulated
the state's electricity market.
The Arizona-based
Alliance Defense Fund, which represents the measure's
sponsors, called the petition a desperate move it would
fight.
''This is just
another attempt to force a radical political agenda upon
the people of California,'' said Defense Fund senior counsel
Glen Lavy. ''The opponents of marriage are willing to
use any means necessary to impose their will.'' (Lisa
Leff, AP)
