Nov 21, 2008  |  By: CHRIS JOHNSON  | COMMENTS     

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom criticized two top political figures this week for failing to take a more active role in the fight against a state constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage in California.

Newsom, in an interview Wednesday with the Blade, said President-elect Barack Obama (D) and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) did not provide enough help in the campaign against the measure, known as Proposition 8.

When asked whether they could have been more helpful, Newsom said, “The answer is unequivocally yes” and that “you can’t for a moment be surprised.”

“I think they would be the first to say that ‘no, we didn’t do much at all,’” he said.

But Newsom said Schwarzenegger deserves credit for coming out against Proposition 8 in April and Obama should be recognized for doing so in June.

“I don’t want to completely minimize their involvement,” Newsom said, “but were they advocates of opposition? No. Did they want to particularly talk about the issue of marriage equality? Absolutely not.”

Newsom said Obama and Schwarz-enegger’s lack of involvement was “arguably not” good for their political futures.

While critical of Obama and Schwarz-negger, Newsom urged supporters of same-sex marriage to avoid criticizing minority groups that voted in favor of Proposition 8. He called for greater outreach to those groups to win their future support.

“The most unfortunate thing that could happen is people pointing fingers, blaming individuals, or more alarmingly, groups of individuals,” he said.

He said the most “disconcerting thing that’s happened” following the passage of Proposition 8 is “members of our broader community being attacked as culprits — particularly the African-American community.”

“I don’t think we can blame a community for not voting with us when we didn’t ask for their vote, necessarily,” he said. “There wasn’t a level of outreach into the African-American churches — perhaps there could have been. If you don’t ask for something, you shouldn’t be surprised if people
don't give it."

Newsom said the black community “is an ally of the gay and lesbian community naturally” and that gays need to “broaden the dialogue” with the blacks on same-sex marriage.

Newsom, who said he did not want to criticize the “No on 8” campaign, said one lesson learned from the fight against the amendment was that “we shouldn’t take any votes for granted, including … people of faith.”

He said it was a sign of progress, though, that in 2000, 61 percent of California voters backed Proposition 22, the statutory initiative to ban same-sex marriage, while only 52 percent of voters approved Proposition 8 this year.

“We have made progress and we’re moving in the right direction,” he said.

Calif. court considers Prop 8 lawsuits

Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court rejected legal efforts to stay implementation of Prop 8, which stripped marriage rights from gay couples and put 18,000 same-sex marriages performed there in legal limbo.

But the court on Wednesday agreed to hear legal challenges to Proposition 8 and directed the parties involved in lawsuits to brief and argue three issues:

• Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?

• Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?

• If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

The court also granted an expedited hearing schedule, with briefings slated for January and oral arguments to be held as early as March.

On Monday, California Attorney General Jerry Brown issued his reply to the lawsuits and encouraged the justices to take up the issue and review the measure’s constitutionality.

“The profound importance of the issues raised by Proposition 8 warrants that this matter be reviewed and promptly resolved by the California Supreme Court,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown argued that the court should handle the petitions rather than lower courts, where lawsuits typically begin, to “ensure uniformity of decision, finality and certainty for the citizens of California.”

Brown also said he opposed a stay on Proposition 8, arguing the continuation of same-sex marriage would “increase uncertainty,” and reiterated his opinion that the 18,000 gay couples who wed in California still have valid marriages.

A number of sympathetic organizations have filed petitions against Proposition 8, bringing the total number of lawsuits at Blade deadline to six.

Each of the lawsuits argues that Proposition 8 changes established rights in the state Constitution in such a way that the changes should be considered a “revision” to the constitution and not an “amendment.” Revisions need approval by two-thirds of the state legislature to become part of ...