Same-sex marriage laws: Not amenable to democracy?
Nov 5, 2008 Lex scripta, O Mores!, Oppression
Same-sex marriage advocates wasted no time suing to overturn the decisive result in the voting over California’s Proposition 8:
As the vote counting continued this morning, opponents of Prop. 8 filed a lawsuit directly with the state Supreme Court – whose May 15 ruling legalized same-sex marriage – asking the justices to overturn the measure.
The suit argued that Prop. 8 would change the California Constitution in such fundamental ways – taking important rights away from a minority group – that it amounted to a constitutional revision, which requires approval by the Legislature before being submitted to the voters. The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Lamda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The same groups asked the court before the election to remove Prop. 8 from the ballot on those grounds. The justices refused, but left the door open for a post-election challenge.
“A major purpose of the Constitution is to protect minorities from majorities,” said Elizabeth Gill, an ACLU lawyer. “Because changing that principle is a fundamental change to the organizing principles of the Constitution itself, only the Legislature can initiative such revisions.”
I don’t know anything about the California constitution, but it would sure surprise me to learn that same-sex marriage is one of its “organizing principles.” But it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the California Supreme Court would rule that it is!
That must be some state, California.
