Gay activists in California have fallen
short of qualifying a ballot measure in 2010 that would repeal
Proposition 8, the 2008 voter-approved initiative that defined
marriage as a heterosexual union in the California Constitution and
trumped a state Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
Monday was the deadline for repeal
supporters to submit the nearly 695,000 signatures needed to qualify
the issue for the November ballot. Sean Bohac, chairman of Restore
Equality 2010, told The Associated Press that his
all-volunteer group was unable to deliver on the goal.
Last year, leading gay rights groups –
including Equality
California, the state's largest – decided to sit out the effort
to repeal the gay ban until 2012.
The groups cited money and time to
organize as major considerations behind their decision to wait.
Bohac said the decision undermined his
group's efforts, but added that his group is committed to restoring
marriage equality in 2012.
Some gay marriage supporters in the
state say their best bet lays in a federal court challenge to
Proposition 8 that is widely expected to reach the Supreme Court.
Others, however, disagree, saying the high court remains too
conservative to overturn the ban.