Post by Paddy by Grace on May 29, 2009 4:15:51 GMT -7
www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=544198
Calif. high court dug its own hole, jumped inCharlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 5/27/2009 7:30:00 AM
An attorney argues that while upholding voters' decision that marriage is only between a man and a woman, the California Supreme Court has succeeded in "digging itself a deeper hole" by validating thousands of same-sex "marriages" that occurred in the Golden State.
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court, which had legalized homosexual marriage one year earlier, upheld Proposition 8 defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The purpose of Prop. 8 -- a constitutional amendment approved by 52 percent of voters in November -- was to overturn that previous ruling by the state's high court. Joe Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund believes Tuesday's 6-1 decision was correct.
"The California Supreme Court arrived at the only conclusion possible in this case, and that is that the people of California have a fundamental right to amend their own constitution," says Campbell.
But the court also decided that the roughly 18,000 same-gender marriages executed in the interim (June through early November 2008) would remain valid, which the attorney points out is contrary to the intent of the amendment.
"The court created this problem with its first decision," Campbell argues, "and now the court has perpetuated this problem despite the clear voice of the people that marriage is between one man and one woman and that anything else outside of that is not marriage. So what we've seen here is the court, in a sense, digging itself a deeper hole by refusing to perspectively invalidate these same-sex marriages."
Meanwhile, Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, sees Tuesday's ruling as victory for all Californians. "This 6-to-1 decision by the California Supreme Court is a tremendous victory not just for marriage, but also for the democratic process itself," says Dacus. "These justices could have hijacked the voice of the people at the ballot box." (Listen to audio report)
But instead, he notes, they upheld last November's vote. According to the attorney, however, many related legal battles are yet to come. He says the homosexual-rights lobby employ "bully[ing] tactics and intimidation" to achieve their goals.
"For example, we at the Pacific Justice Institute are already in process of defending people who are [being] harassed or have lost their jobs simply because they supported Proposition 8, the defense of marriage," he shares. Those are individuals who donated to the pro-marriage campaign and found themselves and their employers identified on a state website.
In addition, another potential battle looms on the horizon. Homosexual activists are threatening a petition drive to put homosexual marriage on a future ballot in hopes of reversing Prop. 8. The earliest such an initiative could appear before voters would be November 2010.
Calif. high court dug its own hole, jumped inCharlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 5/27/2009 7:30:00 AM
An attorney argues that while upholding voters' decision that marriage is only between a man and a woman, the California Supreme Court has succeeded in "digging itself a deeper hole" by validating thousands of same-sex "marriages" that occurred in the Golden State.
Yesterday, the California Supreme Court, which had legalized homosexual marriage one year earlier, upheld Proposition 8 defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The purpose of Prop. 8 -- a constitutional amendment approved by 52 percent of voters in November -- was to overturn that previous ruling by the state's high court. Joe Campbell of the Alliance Defense Fund believes Tuesday's 6-1 decision was correct.
"The California Supreme Court arrived at the only conclusion possible in this case, and that is that the people of California have a fundamental right to amend their own constitution," says Campbell.
But the court also decided that the roughly 18,000 same-gender marriages executed in the interim (June through early November 2008) would remain valid, which the attorney points out is contrary to the intent of the amendment.
"The court created this problem with its first decision," Campbell argues, "and now the court has perpetuated this problem despite the clear voice of the people that marriage is between one man and one woman and that anything else outside of that is not marriage. So what we've seen here is the court, in a sense, digging itself a deeper hole by refusing to perspectively invalidate these same-sex marriages."
Meanwhile, Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, sees Tuesday's ruling as victory for all Californians. "This 6-to-1 decision by the California Supreme Court is a tremendous victory not just for marriage, but also for the democratic process itself," says Dacus. "These justices could have hijacked the voice of the people at the ballot box." (Listen to audio report)
But instead, he notes, they upheld last November's vote. According to the attorney, however, many related legal battles are yet to come. He says the homosexual-rights lobby employ "bully[ing] tactics and intimidation" to achieve their goals.
"For example, we at the Pacific Justice Institute are already in process of defending people who are [being] harassed or have lost their jobs simply because they supported Proposition 8, the defense of marriage," he shares. Those are individuals who donated to the pro-marriage campaign and found themselves and their employers identified on a state website.
In addition, another potential battle looms on the horizon. Homosexual activists are threatening a petition drive to put homosexual marriage on a future ballot in hopes of reversing Prop. 8. The earliest such an initiative could appear before voters would be November 2010.