Whether groups like it or not, the
campaign to overturn Proposition 8 is happening sooner rather than
later.
On Thursday, the gay rights group Love
Honor Cherish filed ballot language with the state for a measure
that seeks to overturn California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Last month, Equality California (EQCA),
the state's largest gay rights group, announced it was prepared to
sit it out until 2012 to mount an effort to repeal California's
voter-approved gay marriage ban. EQCA is the group that lead the
unsuccessful opposition to Proposition 8 last year.
But Love Honor Cherish is preparing to
move now. The filing is the first step to getting on the ballot in
2010.
The proposed amendment would strike out
the sentence “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or
recognized in California” approved by voters last year and replace
it with “Marriage is between only two persons and shall not be
restricted on the basis of race, color, creed, ancestry, national
origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion” in the
state's constitution. Religious organizations would be exempt from
performing gay marriages.
If Attorney General Jerry Brown
approves the language, then supporters would have until mid-April to
gather the nearly 1 million signatures needed to qualify for the
November 2010 ballot.
“Starting today, there is new hope
for committed gay and lesbian couples who want to get married,”
John Henning, executive director of Love Honor Cherish, said in a
statement. “We're back on the path toward full equality.”
A handful of smaller gay rights groups
have expressed support for moving forward with repeal in 2010,
including the 70,000-member Courage Campaign and the Stonewall
Democratic Club.