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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, August 15, 2008
Opponents
of
same-sex
marriage
have
abandoned
their
fight
in
California
to
change
the
ballot
title
and
summary
for
a
proposed
state
constitutional
amendment
that
would
ban
gay
nuptials.
Sacramento
Superior
Court
Judge
Timothy
Frawley
ruled
Friday
against
a
lawsuit
filed
by
the
group
backing
the
amendment,
Proposition
8.
On
the
same
day,
a
state
appeals
court
in
Sacramento
rejected
a
request
for
an
emergency
appeal.
In
his
ruling,
Frawley
says
that
there
is
“nothing
inherently
argumentative
or
prejudicial”
about
the
wording
in
the
ballot
title
and
summary.
The
judge
also
says
he
is
“not
willing
to
fashion
a
rule
that
would
require
the
Attorney
General
to
engage
in
useless
nomination.”
Jennifer
Kerns,
a
spokesperson
for
the
Protect
Marriage
coalition,
was
quoted
in
the
San
Francisco
Chronicle
as
saying
that
her
organization
would
“leave
the
final
outcome
to
voters”
and
did
not
intend
to
fight
the
ballot
description
any
further
through
legal
means.
Geoff
Kors,
executive
director
for
Equality
California,
said
in
a
statement
Friday
that
he
was
pleased
that
Frawley
found
that
arguments
favoring
the
language
change
were
“false
and
misleading.”
“We
are
confident
that
California
voters
will
see
through
these
scare
tactics,”
he
said.
Amendment
supporters
cried
foul
in
response
to
the
change
in
the
wording
on
the
ballot
label
and
analysis,
arguing
that
the
language
was
“inherently
argumentative”
and
would
influence
voters
to
reject
the
amendment.
Early
last
month,
California’s
attorney
general
and
legislative
analyst
changed
the
language
to
assert
that
approving
the
amendment
would
“eliminate
the
right
of
same-sex
couples
to
marry.”
The
document
also
says
that
enacting
Proposition
8
would
mean
a
revenue
loss
to
the
state
and
local
governments
over
the
next
few
years,
mainly
from
sales
tax,
totaling
“several
tens
of
millions
of
dollars.”
The
language
also
says
that
approving
Proposition
8
in
the
long
term
would
likely
have
little
financial
impact
on
state
and
local
governments.
Before
the
California
Supreme
Court
made
its
May
15
decision
permitting
same-sex
weddings,
the
proposed
language
stated
that
there
would
be
“no
fiscal
effect
on
state
and
local
governments”
and
“no
change
to
the
manner
in
which
marriages
are
currently
recognized
by
the
state.”
The
voter
pamphlet
with
the
language
change
was
scheduled
for
delivery
to
the
printer’s
office
by
Tuesday.
The
information
will
be
included
in
the
November
ballot
materials
and
is
the
only
official
direct
mail
materials
that
California
voters
receive
from
the
state.
If
California
voters
approve
Proposition
8
with
a
majority
vote
in
November,
gay
couples
would
no
longer
be
eligible
for
marriage
in
the
state.
A
Field
Poll
published
Jul.
18
found
that
51
percent
of
likely
voters
would
vote
against
the
amendment
while
42
percent
would
vote
in
favor
of
the
amendment.
Crist
comes
out
for
amendment
Meanwhile,
Florida
Gov.
Charlie
Crist
(R)
has
backed
a
proposed
state
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
same-sex
marriage
in
his
state.
Crist
unexpectedly
told
reporters
Aug.
4
during
a
public
appearance
that
he
favors
the
initiative,
known
as
Amendment
2.
Crist
spokesperson
Sterling
Ivey
later
confirmed
that
the
governor
favors
the
initiative.
“Yes,
he
is
supportive
of
it,”
Ivey
said.
In
2006,
he
signed
a
petition
to
place
the
measure
on
the
ballot,
but
he
later
spoke
out
against
the
state
Republican
Party
for
contributing
$300,000
to
Florida4marriage.org,
the
political
action
committee
that
supports
the
measure.
The
Florida
governor
is
considered
on
the
short
list
of
possible
running
mates
for
Republican
presidential
hopeful
John
McCain.
In
the
midst
of
persistent
rumors
about
his
sexual
orientation,
Crist
recently
announced
his
intention
to
marry
business
owner
Carole
Rome
in
St.
Petersburg,
Fla.,
Dec.
12.
Derek
Newton,
campaign
manager
of
SayNo2.com,
the
political
action
committee
working
to
defeat
the
measure,
said
Crist’s
position
is
not
a
priority
for
the
organization.
“We’re
not
focused
on
that
at
all,”
Newton
said.
“His
position
and
his
feelings
are
his
feelings,
and
it’s
not
something
we’re
focused
on.”
A
Quinnipiac
poll
published
June
3
found
that
58
percent
of
Florida
voters
would
support
the
marriage
initiative
while
37
percent
would
oppose
it.
The
amendment
needs
the
approval
of
60
percent
of
voters
to
become
part
of
the
state
constitution.
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