Rights groups in California announced
Wednesday they would challenge the legality of a newly-passed
constitutional amendment that yanks back on the right of gays and
lesbians to marry in the state.
Tuesday's passage of Proposition 8 was
challenged Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda
Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who filed a writ
petition before the California Supreme Court asking for the amendment
to be invalidated.
Gays and lesbians had been marrying at
breakneck speeds in California since its Supreme Court had overruled
a 2000 voter-approved gay marriage ban. An estimated 18,000 gay
couples had tied the knot since the court's May ruling which
declared the gay marriage ban unconstitutional.
But gay marriage backers were
heartbroken Tuesday when California voters approved the amendment
that unties their bonds
even as Senator Barack Obama – a gay-affirming candidate – was
being elected president.
Voters in Arizona and Florida also
approved similar constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage. But
in Connecticut, a voter initiative that would force a constitutional
convention to discuss altering the constitution to ban gay marriage
was unsuccessful. Officials in the state said they would begin
satisfying a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling granting gays and
lesbians the right to marry on November 12.
Rights groups in California argue the
gay marriage ban is invalid because it alters the constitution's
“core commitment to equality for everyone by eliminating a
fundamental right from just one group, lesbian and gay Californians.”
“If the voters approved an initiative
that took the right to free speech away from women, but not from men,
everyone would agree that such a measure conflicts with the basic
ideals of equality enshrined in our constitution,” Jenny Pizer, a
staff attorney with Lambda Legal, said in a statement announcing the
challenge.
The rights groups say the gay marriage
ban used an improper vehicle – a voter ballot – to alter the
constitution. They contend that such a measure is only valid when
making superficial changes to the constitution. To change the
underlying principles of the constitution, a measure must first be
approved by the legislature before being submitted to the voters on a
ballot. Proposition 8 radically alters the California constitution
by removing rights previously given by the constitution itself, and
relied on the voter
ballot to accomplish its goal.
“A major purpose of the constitution
is to protect minorities from majorities,” said Elizabeth Gill, a
staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. “Because
changing that principle is a fundamental change to the organizing
principles of the constitution itself, only the legislature can
initiate such revisions to the constitution.”
The rights groups said there is
historical precedent for the California Supreme Court to strike down
an improper voter initiative. In 1990, a voter-approved initiative
that sought to “strip California's courts of their role as
independent interpreters of the state's constitution” was
overturned by the court.
While California's Attorney General has
said the state will honor all legal gay marriage licenses, many
believe those marriages are certain to be challenged by gay marriage
foes.