Nov 10, 2008 3:29 pm US/Pacific
Yes On 8 Group Seeks To Fight Lawsuits
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
A group that supported Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban passed by California voters last week, asked the state Supreme Court Monday to allow it to fight three lawsuits challenging the measure.
The Sacramento-based Campaign for California Families asked the court for permission to become a party in the case to join the state in defending the measure against three lawsuits.
The lawsuits were filed with the high court in San Francisco on the day after the Nov. 4 election by seven same-sex couples, the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles, and Santa Clara County.
The lawsuits claim Proposition 8 is so far-reaching, by taking away rights of a minority group, that it is a revision rather than an amendment to the state constitution and therefore would need a more extensive ratification procedure.
A constitutional revision requires approval of two-thirds of each house of the Legislature as well as a majority of California voters.
The Campaign for California Families argues in Monday's filing that its participation in the case is needed to protect the public's right to amend the state constitution through initiatives.
The group's attorneys, from Florida-based Liberty Counsel, wrote that the case "is about much more than the validity of Proposition 8."
The case is more broadly "about the people's right to amend the constitution by initiative," the attorneys contended.
The defendants in the three lawsuits are state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who is charged with enforcing state laws, and other state officials, including state Registrar of Vital Statistics Mark Horton, who is in charge of preparing marriage certificates.
Brown has said he plans to defend Proposition 8 and will file a brief within a few days.
Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said the panel's seven justices have no legal deadline for acting on the lawsuits, but are expected to "as quickly as possible."
The state high court ruled by a 4-3 vote in May that the equal protection guarantee of the California constitution provides a right to same-sex marriage.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
California's 1st Same-Sex Marriage
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