Calif. High Court Dismisses Suit Against Marriage Amendment

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, July 17, 2008

The California Supreme Court unanimously dismissed efforts to throw the California Marriage Protection Act off of the November ballot Wednesday, giving Californians the chance to consider a constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to a union between a man and a woman.

The court did not give a reason for deciding not to accept the case, which gay "marriage" supporters placed before them last month in a bid to prohibit the public from having the opportunity to vote on the issue this fall.

The "huge victory" in the fight to protect marriage was lauded by conservatives and pro-family activists in California and throughout the nation.

"This was a frivolous lawsuit. It was a desperate attempt to try to keep the voter initiative off the ballot in November," said Glen Lavy, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund representing the measure's sponsors, according to The Associated Press.

"The Court's dismissal sends a strong message that Proposition 8 continues to have the law on its side," expressed Ron Prentice, chairman of the Protect Marriage initiative, in a released statement. "Time and time again, the opponents have attempted to circumvent the democratic process, but the fact remains that the people of California have a right to vote on this issue."

In 2000, more than 61 percent of California voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 22, which upheld the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. This past May, however, the California Supreme Court overthrew the vote of the people, ruling 4-3 to strike down Proposition 22 and related California laws and to allow same-sex couples to "marry."

In response, pro-family activists have been mobilizing California voters to support Proposition 8, which qualified for the November ballot two weeks after the California High Court's infamous decision to legalize same-sex "marriage" in the state.

If approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4, the amendment would overturn the California Supreme Court ruling, leaving Massachusetts once again as the only state that legalizes same-sex "marriage."

Since 2004, when the Massachusetts State Supreme Court made its ruling to recognize gay "marriage," 26 states have passed a constitutional ban on the practice, while over a dozen others have passed laws limiting or outlawing it.