California marriage advocates suing over amendment language change

Supporters of Proposition 8, the California marriage amendment, filed a lawsuit yesterday to block a change made by California Attorney General Jerry Brown to the language of the measure’s ballot title and summary. The petitions circulated to qualify the initiative for the ballot said the measure would amend the state Constitution “to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” but the Attorney General has changed it to say that Proposition 8 seeks to “eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.”

Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for the Protect Marriage coalition, called the new language “inherently argumentative” and said it could “prejudice voters against the initiative,” according to the LA Times. “This is a complete about-face from the ballot title that was assigned” when the measure was being circulated for signatures, Kerns continued.

The paper reports that the move has raised suspicion in some circles that Brown, a possible candidate for governor in 2010, was influenced by politics. “He is delivering something…that is very important to the gay community, and that is a title and summary that is more likely to lead you to vote ‘No,’” said political analyst Tony Quinn, who added that changes this substantive are “highly unusual.”

In addition to the blatantly biased title change, the summary also has been changed and now predicts a loss to state and local governments of tens of millions of dollars in sales tax revenues over the next few years if the measure passes. The Times article then quotes the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office saying that in the long run there would “likely be little fiscal impact.”

Court Agrees: Wisconsin Marriage Amendment is Constitutional

Earlier today, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard G. Niess ruled that Wisconsin’s Marriage Amendment is constitutional. Judge Niess said the amendment clearly dealt with a single purpose: defining and protecting marriage.

Wisconsin Family Council, represented by Alliance Defense Fund, submitted a friend of the court brief in this case, which the judge referred to several times during the arguments.

At issue was whether or not the amendment violated the Wisconsin Constitution by dealing with more than one subject.

The case was initiated by William McConkey, a UW-Oshkosh professor, who alleged that the amendment violated the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. Judge Niess dismissed that portion of the case last year ruling that McConkey did not have standing as a heterosexual married man. However, the judge said that McConkey did have standing to challenge the amendment based on the “single subject” clause of the Wisconsin Constitution.

“The marriage amendment demonstrated a comprehensive legislative scheme to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman and to prevent indirect abrogation of this special legal status,” said Amy Salberg, Allied Attorney with Alliance Defense Fund. “Judge Niess recognized this in ruling that the marriage amendment represented a single subject in accordance with the Wisconsin Constitution.”

Thomas Balistreri, Assistant Attorney General, represented Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen. Attorney Balistreri correctly noted that the two provisions in the amendment were “flip sides of one coin,” both relating to the general purpose of preserving marriage.

In his ruling, Judge Niess noted that the single purpose of the amendment was “the preservation of the unique and historical status of marriage.”

“We couldn’t agree more,” said Julaine Appling, CEO of Wisconsin Family Council. “Marriage is unique among all other institutions and must be preserved in both number and gender, exactly as this amendment does.”

“Today’s ruling affirms the judgment of nearly 60% of Wisconsin voters who approved this amendment on November 7, 2006. These voters knew they were voting for one thing: the definition and preservation of marriage in our state,” noted Appling.

Source: Wisconsin Family Council