California’s battle over same-sex marriage now heads to the ballot box.
In an expected move on the highly charged debate over gay marriage, an initiative banning same-sex unions has qualified for the November state ballot.
Monday’s announcement from California Secretary of State Debra Bowen signaled the next battle to be fought over the recent historic California Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. If approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4, the amendment would overturn the decision.
“This is long awaited news, and it is great news to the literally thousands of volunteers who participated in gathering signatures throughout the state,” said Ron Prentice, a spokesman for ProtectMarriage.com, which sponsored the initiative. “The response from people has been unprecedented in support of historic marriage.”
But it was a bitter reminder to many in the gay and lesbian community of the uncertainty they still face.
“We’re disappointed, we have been working for the past number of years…to educate California why our constitution should protect everyone equally,” said Jennifer Pizer, co-counsel for Lamda Legal, a national gay rights law firm that defended the couples in the litigation that led to the Supreme Court ruling.
“This is not a surprise, but it’s very disappointing that couples and families will have to work very hard this summer to protect our basic rights.”
The measure would amend the state constitution… read more
