LEGAL CHALLENGES TO PROPOSITION 8 BEGIN IN CALIFORNIA

Yesterday, a joint press release announced that The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a writ petition urging the California Supreme Court to invalidate Proposition 8 if it passes.

Although it appears that Prop 8 will pass, there are still millions of provisional and absentee ballots being counted. As of 7:00 this morning the difference between passing and defeating this measure is only 504,479 votes so there is still a slim chance that it could be defeated.

According to the joint press release;

The petition charges that Proposition 8 is invalid because the initiative process was improperly used in an attempt to undo the constitution’s core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a fundamental right from just one group – lesbian and gay Californians. Proposition 8 also improperly attempts to prevent the courts from exercising their essential constitutional role of protecting the equal protection rights of minorities. According to the California Constitution, such radical changes to the organizing principles of state government cannot be made by simple majority vote through the initiative process, but instead must, at a minimum, go through the state legislature first.

The California Constitution itself sets out two ways to alter the document that sets the most basic rules about how state government works. Through the initiative process, voters can make relatively small changes to the constitution. But any measure that would change the underlying principles of the constitution must first be approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters. That didn’t happen with Proposition 8, and that’s why it’s invalid.

Also, according to The Advocate, a second challenge was filed with California’s supreme court Wednesday morning.

This suite was filed by Robin Tyler and Diane Olson who were the first couple named in the lawsuit that overturned California's ban on gay marriage and the first same-sex couple legally married in Los Angeles County in June.

Robin Tyler said, “This is a civil rights issue. It is not about a lifestyle, it is about our lives.”

I totally agree with Robin. This has everything to do with civil rights and should not be considered solely as a marriage issue. Hopefully the California Supreme Court will, once again, agree with that premise.