Wednesday, July 02, 2008

California Amendment on the Fulcrum

Yowzers, boys and girls, step right up for the rock 'em/sock 'em legal teeter totter!

That California amendment fight for November won't stop its back and forth. From San Francisco, the Chronicle recaps the arguments before the state's Supreme Court on the suit to halt the vote.

Among the considerations:
  • Secretary of State Debra Bowen pleads for quick action. She has ballots to distribute by Aug. 11th.
  • The court could decide it or pass it to a lower court.
  • The anti-equality side says, Yeah, yeah. It wouldn't qualify as is now but it was okay when we got signature.
  • The pro-equality forces contend this is not a stand-alone amendment, rather a constitutional revision, requiring legislative approval before any vote.
  • They also say with all these questions, they should resolve them before any vote.
  • The anti side says lots of key issues have gotten initiative resolution, in a place I consider unhealthily initiative crazy.
Interestingly enough, neither the attorney general nor Bowen has said whether the initiative is valid and belongs on the ballot. This is a hot one, but one the high court will have to temper fast.

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2 comments:

Michael Ejercito said...

What the pro-equality forces did was paint themselves as enemies of democracy. That was not their intent, but then sometimes there are unintended effects.

Anonymous said...

Here is a campaign that is trying to get the world record for the most simultaneous same-sex marriages (200 couples at once). It's an inventive way to celebrate the California ruling and highlight the positive. Here is a link to the campaign: https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/same-sex-marriage-2008.