Opponents of the California marriage amendment, which would restore marriage in California as only a man and a woman, filed a petition Friday asking the California Supreme Court to remove the proposed initiative from the November ballot, thereby silencing voters on this important issue.
Based on the recent California Supreme Court’s ruling that led to the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex partners last week, the lawsuit contends that restoring the definition of marriage in the state Constitution cannot be legally accomplished by voter initiative, but rather must be passed through a different process for constitutional “revisions.”
Attorneys for the ProtectMarriage.com coalition, which is sponsoring the marriage amendment, said the lawsuit — filed by Equality California — is based on “flimsy” legal arguments and likely will be rejected by the court.
“This is an act of desperation,” said Ron Prentice chairman of the ProtectMarriage.com coalition. “The voters deserve a chance to vote on this important issue, but our extremist opponents want to silence the voters.”
The Alliance Defense Fund will defend the marriage amendment in court.
