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20 Nov 2008 10:53 am
The Legal Matter At Hand
Here's the explanation from the pro-marriage equality groups:
The lawsuits allege that, on its face, Proposition 8 is an improper
revision rather than an amendment of the California Constitution
because, in its very title, which was "Eliminates the right to marry
for same-sex couples," the initiative eliminated an existing right only
for a targeted minority. If permitted to stand, Proposition 8 would be
the first time an initiative has successfully been used to change the
California Constitution to take way an existing right only for a
particular group. Such a change would defeat the very purpose of a
constitution and fundamentally alter the role of the courts in
protecting minority rights. According to the California Constitution,
such a serious revision of our state Constitution cannot be enacted
through a simple majority vote, but must first be approved by
two-thirds of the Legislature.
As a legal and constitutional matter, I am not qualified to judge this, but it doesn't sound frivolous to me. As a political matter, I favor re-fighting this at the ballot box, not in the court.
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