Calif. judge: Gay-friendly ballot wording OK

Calif. judge: Gay-friendly ballot wording OK

By 365gay Newscenter Staff
08.08.2008 4:00pm EDT

(Sacramento, California) A judge in Sacramento ruled Friday that the revamped wording on a ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in the California constitution is acceptable.

The ballot question originally had been described as a measure to limit marriage between a man and a woman. Last month Attorney General Jerry Brown changed the description to say the proposed amendment would eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry and that it could result in California losing tens of millions of dollars in taxes.

The Project Marriage Coalition, the umbrella group that collected enough names to have the question placed on the ballot went to court, accusing Brown of twisting the wording to influence the vote.

At a hearing Thursday attorneys for Brown’s office said the original definition was written before the California Supreme Court in May struck down the state ban on same-sex marriage. Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples began lining up for marriage licenses the following month when the ruling took effect.

In a written ruling issued Friday morning Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley said that the title and summary accurately summarizes the proposition.

“There is nothing inherently argumentative or prejudicial about transitive verbs, and the Court is not willing to fashion a rule that would require the Attorney General to engage in useless nominalization,” Frawley wrote.

The decision is a setback for gay marriage foes who say they will appeal.

Brown praised the ruling saying the lawsuit was “was more about politics than the law.”

In a separate court battle the state Supreme Court last month refused to hear a challenge by LGBT groups to declare the ballot initiative illegal.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) opposes the amendment and has said he will campaign against it. Brown, a Democrat, also opposes the amendment.

Despite the legal wrangling over the initiative a poll released in July suggests the measure is likely to be defeated.

Fifty-one percent of likely voters said they would vote against the proposed amendment while 42-percent would support it.