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repealed only two ballot measures in its history, a 1966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)
