Legal Commentary

Three Lawsuits Filed Challenging Proposition 8

By Jeralyn

Three lawsuits were filed today in California courts seeking to have Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, declared invalid.

The principal argument is that Proposition 8 is a constitutional revision that cannot be accomplished by constitutional amendment.

[One] suit filed with the high court in San Francisco this afternoon argues that the California Constitution´s equal protection provisions do not allow a bare majority of voters to use the amendment process to divest politically disfavored groups of constitutional rights. Such a sweeping redefinition of equal protection would require a constitutional revision rather than a mere amendment, the petition argues. Article XVIII of the California Constitution provides that a constitutional revision may only be accomplished by a constitutional convention and popular ratification, or by legislative submission to the electorate.

That lawuit was filed by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Santa Clara County Counsel Anne C, on behalf of San Francisco, Santa Clara County and the City of Los Angeles [More..]

A second suit was filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights on behalf of same-sex couples. The third was filed by Gloria Allred on behalf of a lesbian couple.

City Attorney Herrera further explained the grounds:

The issue before the court today is of far greater consequence than marriage equality alone," Herrera said. "Equal protection of the laws is not merely the cornerstone of the California Constitution, it is what separates constitutional democracy from mob rule tyranny. If allowed to stand, Prop 8 so devastates the principle of equal protection that it endangers the fundamental rights of any potential electoral minority— even for protected classes based on race, religion, national origin and gender. The proponents of Prop 8 waged a ruthless campaign of falsehood and fear, funded by millions of dollars from out-of-state interest groups. Make no mistake that their success in California has dramatically raised the stakes. What began as a struggle for marriage equality is today a fight for equality itself.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on November 05, 2008 (boomark / email).