Members of California's senate and assembly introduced a resolution Tuesday, the second day of the 2009-2010 session, opposing the passage of Proposition 8. With the resolution, sponsors Sen. Mark Leno and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, both San Francisco Democrats, suggest that Proposition 8 represents an improper revision of the state constitution. They maintain that both houses of the California legislature must approve any proposed revision to the constitution by a two-thirds vote before it can even go on the ballot, which was not the case with Prop. 8.
The California supreme court is slated to hear arguments for and against the proposition in March 2009. The National Center for Lesbian Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal filed suit November 5 challenging the validity of the marriage ban. The suit was filed even before Equality California, the official group that organized to defeat Prop. 8, had conceded defeat.
The court has repealed only two ballot measures in its history, a 1966 law that would have allowed racial discrimination in housing, and an anti-immigration proposition passed in 1994, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The resolution is a public decree, showing that the state legislature takes an official stance on an issue, and not actual legislation. While the document has no law-binding power, it is likely to be directed to the supreme court as it make its decision next spring. (Michelle Garcia, The Advocate)
