Calif. Dems Urge State Court to Dump Gay Marriage Ban

Democratic legislators in California have filed a brief calling on the state Supreme Court to reject a ballot proposition that would ban gay marriage in the state, the Los Angeles Times reports. The measure, Proposition 8, passed by some 500,000 votes. The lawmakers argue that such sweeping change would require a full constitutional revision by the legislature.

“Proposition 8 seeks to effect a monumental revision” of constitutional rights “by allowing a bare majority of voters to eliminate a fundamental right of a constitutionally protected minority group,” the brief says. If Proposition 8 takes effect, “this court will no longer be the final arbiter of the rights of minorities.” The manager of the Proposition 8 campaign called the move “a Hail Mary, no question about it.”
(More gay marriage stories.)