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Could California Become a Quagmire For Gay Marriage?

Joe Mathews - 
June 14, 2008 - 9:51pm

That's the question I attempt to answer in this piece in Sunday's Washington Post.

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Comments

Yes, it could become another Vietnam.

Submitted by Kevin (not verified) on June 15, 2008 - 2:30pm.

I read your Washington Post article and agree that it has the potential to become the gay communities' Vietnam.
It is part of "California's Post-Industiral Initiative Complex" ("CPIIC") where the initiaitve industry is a fixed part of the California economy.

Initiaves won. Initiaves lost. That is the game plan. Never ending. Like Parental Notificaiton of Teenage Abortions or Redistricting. Like a Never-ending Story.
Money is to be made on both sides. The CPIIC could be severly harmed if the Court ever curtailed the intiaive process.
Sure, if someone had the $$$ and support of the LGBT community, they could probably stop the initiative from reaaching the ballot box but that is unlikely.
It looks like the LGBT leaders have conceded that fundamental civil rights that remove the right of privacy, the right of personal autonomy, due process and equal protection, can be stripped away by a voter initiave that merely states that only a marriage between a man and a woman is vaolid or reocgnized in California. They also apparently believe that this can be done without any analysis of the fiscal impact because the signature collection drive began before the Supreme Court ruled. [No anlaysis was ever done under the assumption that it did not change law. Got that.] It is also apparently irrlevant that the initiative states that it does not change California law, when in fact it does.
Who cares?
Show me the money, we have a war to fight in November.

And Another Thought

Submitted by Joe Mathews on June 17, 2008 - 12:20pm.

Thanks for this post, Kevin. And if this is, I believe, Kevin Norte, an attorney who is active in the California PAC of the Log Cabin Republicans, I'd like to offer a link here to a very interesting legal theory he's offered that could impact what happens in California. (I had mentioned this in an early draft of the Post story, but it got cut for space).

 Here's the link. But to briefly explain it (not as well as Kevin can), the idea is that now that the state supreme court has ruled on what the state constitution means when it comes to gay marriage, the ballot initiative represents an unconstitutional amendment to the constitution. (Voters can add to the constitution, but some legal scholars say there are limits on direct amendments). It's a novel theory. And given all the uncertainty on this question, one that could end up being tested.

 

Joe Mathews Irvine senior fellow, New America Foundation www.newamerica.net/blog/blockbuster-democracy/

New Developemnts in the California Initative Process

Submitted by Kevin Norte (not verified) on June 23, 2008 - 1:42am.

http://www.metnews.com/articles/2008/legcomm061708.htm

Joe;
Here is an expanded article that was published on 6/17 on the initative issue and how to remove an initaitve from the ballot prior to the election.
That was Tuesday. Friday afternoon, 6/20, a special petition for a writ was filed ditectly in the Supreme Court asking the Court to order that the initative be removed. The issues concerning the out-dated wording and the revision versus the amendment argument that are now playing out also (by chance) were used in my June 17 piece. Articles on the filing of the Writ are on-line story if you GOOGLE "California marriage amendment revision".
Since I know you love following the initaitve process, I am sure that you will love following this issue from its birth in the Met-News 6 days after the In re Marriage Cases to June 17th, and now the special petition for a writ. Clearly, new law will be made on this one.