Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 4:07:19 PM
Now they are changing the rules of the game as they go along.
Los Angeles Times staff writer Jessica Garrison brings us an article with the following headline:
Opponents of gay marriage say they'll sue over changed wording in Proposition 8
People who think that marriage licenses should be – as they always have been - for bride-groom couples, or at least think that it should not be the judiciary that forcibly neuters marriage licensing against a popular vote, are erroneously labeled “opponents of gay marriage”.
Supporters of Proposition 8, the proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, said they would file suit today to block a change made by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to the language of the measure's ballot title and summary.
Petitions circulated to qualify the initiative for the ballot said the measure would amend the state Constitution "to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
In a move made public last week and applauded by same-sex marriage proponents, the attorney general's office changed the language to say that Proposition 8 seeks to "eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry."
This is ridiculous. Ballot propositions should be placed on the ballot as worded in the petitions that got them there.
Political analysts on both sides suggest that the language change will make passage of the initiative more difficult, noting that voters might be more reluctant to pass a measure that makes clear it is taking away existing rights.
Just because something is legal does not make it a right.
Meanwhile, utility PG & E wants to keep Californians from restoring marriage. They are giving money to fight Proposition 8.
The utility also said it will spearhead the formation of a business advisory council that will seek to get other businesses around California to to defeat the ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Nice to know they are so enthusiastic about degrading the family.
The donation from the utility, and the formation of the business council, represents a shift from the last time that the question of gay marriage was on the ballot, in 2000. Back then, many businesses stayed on the sidelines. This time, in addition to PG&E, other large corporations such as AT&T and Wells Fargo also have donated to defeat Proposition 8.
Gee, thanks for selling out the majority of your customers and employees for a tiny minority.
The state does not have the same interest in licensing same-sex couplings as it does bride-groom marriage. Diluting marriage is detrimental.