Proposed California anti-gay marriage amendment is on the ballot for November

[terrya]

My friends in California, please let me know of the organizations that will fight this digusting piece of bigotry. I can financially contribute to them. I wish I were there to volunteer, but sending money is something, I guess.

This amendment can't pass. It can't. You guys...hell, all of us...deserve marriage equality.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage;_ylt=AvP11O1jQgFqtripyOZwzgOs0NUE

[xchrom]

1. it's not up as news yet

but these guys -- http://www.hrc.org/

[terrya]

2. Thanks

Sad to say, I've let my HRC membership lapse. Now is a good time to renew it..plus contribute to the fight against this discriminatory amendment.

[Iggo]

6. So all this time...

...when people have been suggesting I donate to HRC, they didn't mean Hillary Rodham Clinton?

Boy, do I feel dumb.

[TechBear_Seattle]

3. Anyone OTHER than HRC? I refuse to give them any money

The Human Rights Campaign has a disturbing history of refusing to campaign for human rights with regards to equal marriage and transgender rights; they are all about grabbing what money they can from whomever they can sucker. Any suggestions on groups OF Californians based and working IN California? I strongly suspect they will make much better use of what I can send.

[cboy4]

4. For every issue or action I disagree with TechBear, they

please me two actions I agree with.

They do a lot of good work.


WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, today pledged an initial contribution of $500,000 to Equality for All to protect marriage equality in California by defeating a proposed constitutional amendment that could possibly be on the November general election ballot in California. This is an addition to the $100,000 contribution the Human Rights Campaign made to Equality for All earlier this year.

http://www.hrc.org/10474.htm

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Then I will give directly to Equality For All. n/t

[cboy4]

7. Terrific. n/t

[LeftCoast]

8. Was hoping they'd rule it invalid - oh well.

At least the polling is trending to our side.

Keep your fingers crossed everyone!

[terrya]

9. I don't think it will pass.

It sure as hell will be a tough fight...the bigots will pour a ton of money into passing this thing.

But I think it won't passed.

I WILL send some money to our side, though.

[LeftCoast]

15. I don't either, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

In the meantime, I plan on fully enjoying my new status as a 100% equal citizen. My partner and I will be getting married before Nov. :D

[terrya]

19. Well, I'm cautiously hopeful.

Since your governor has come out against it, that's a plus. I'd like to see the entire state establishment come out against it. And it would be nice if our new nominee would also come out against it. That probably won't happen, though. :-(

Congrats on your upcoming nuptials! :thumbsup:

[GodlessBiker]

10. Me too. It's a revision of the Constitution, not an amendment (no revisions through referendum).

If it passes, the CA Supreme Court may have to answer this question.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. How can you revise a constitution without amending it?

I'm not sure what you mean by the distinction. :shrug:

[GodlessBiker]

14. Good questions. Perhaps it is a matter of degree.

[TechBear_Seattle]

12. Usually, initiatives cannot be ajudicated before they are activated

This has been a big problem in Washington State. At one point early on, the initiative text passes it to the Office of the Code Revisor, who looks it over and recasts it (if necessary) into the proper form with cross-references and statements such as "this section replaces Revised Code of Washington, XX.XX.XXX" or "this new section will be added to RCW xx.xx." However, this recast is a suggestion which the initiative sponsors can use, ignore or amend. It goes through the office of the Secretary of State twice, once on its way to the OCR and once again when it is filed.

After the initiative is filed, the SoS comes up with the initiative's short title, long title and description, which the initiative sponsors may challenge in the Thurston County (home county of the state capital) Superior Court if they are not happy with what the SoS comes up with. The SoS must, in accordance with the state Constitution, be impartial and may not editorialize or otherwise show bias in this process. Because of this, the SoS is effectively barred from making any kind of comment as to the initiative itself, as that would taint the process and open the state up for a violation of constitutional rights lawsuit.

As for the courts, judicial precedent is crystal clear: No suit can be brought against an initiative until it has become law, and then only by parties with legal standing to do so. Judges are ethically prohibited from commenting on cases that potentially may appear before them, so even "unofficial opinions" on pending initiatives can get them removed from the bench and permanently disbarred. Even if the initiative is in clearly unconstitutional -- the state constitution requires that all legislation, including initiatives, cover one and only one subject; that tends to get violated with initiatives a lot -- the courts are not allowed to speak. IF the initiative passes, and IF someone with standing brings suit, then and only then can the courts offer any kind of opinion.

I would be very surprised to learn that the process in California is substantially different.

[LeftCoast]

16. That makes sense. Wish I knew more about law

I'll have to ask some of my lawyer friends next time I see them.

[TechBear_Seattle]

17. Most lawyers are unfamiliar with the initiative process. A better bet

A very quick google turned up this page on the California Secretary of State's website. It is the official state guide for proposing an initiative in that state.

Another good resource would be to contact the sponsors of a recent initiative (I expect contact information on sponsors is public record) and ask some questions. Don't try to get answers from current campaigns; my own experience with Washington's I-957 is that the people are too busy to really address relevant questions, much less tangential ones.

And if all else fails, give the SoS' office a call. A big part of her job is to provide election information, so an email with questions along the lines of "I did not see answers to these in your initiative guide" will probably be answered promptly. Just keep in mind that staffers will take pains to avoid anything that might be construed as legal advice.

Added: If you are interested in Washington's initiative process, my state's version of the above linked page can be found here. Keep in mind that it is due to be updated, but most of information is still valid.

[LeftCoast]

18. Those are very good suggestions

They're quicker than my sources. Thanks for the info!

[keepCAblue]

13. Here are several orgs you can donate to ...

All the below orgs are and have been at the forefront of fighting for marriage equality in California:

(Excerpt from http://www.gaylinkcontent.com/storydetail.cfm?storyid=3419)

What can we do to help preserve the freedom to marry we have just won?

We urge you to get involved today! For more information about how you can help, please contact Equality For All at http://www.EqualityForAll.com. Now that we have won this victory, all residents of California are better off, because strengthening any group of families makes stronger communities for everyone. All people who value families and fairness have a stake in preserving the freedom to marry for lesbian and gay couples. We cannot afford to wait, please act now.

For more information about the court’s ruling, legal information for couples, and action steps to help protect the freedom to marry, please contact:

National Center for Lesbian Rights: http://www.nclrights.org

Equality California: http://www.eqca.org
Lambda Legal: http://www.lambdalegal.org
The American Civil Liberties Union: http://www.aclu.org