Prop 8 Proponents Sue AG Brown Over Revised Title

As reported by MadProfessah yesterday, the title and summary of Proposition 8 was revised from the relatively innocuous "Limit on Marriage" to the more direct "Elimination of Rights of Same-Sex Couples to Marry." The heterosexual supremacists who are promoting Proposition 8 are not pleased and have gone to court.

Jennifer Kerns, spokeswoman for the Protect Marriage coalition, called the new language "inherently argumentative" and said it could "prejudice voters against the initiative."

Proponents of the measure said they want voters to see ballot language similar to what was on the petitions that began circulating last fall.

"This is a complete about-face from the ballot title that was assigned" when the measure was being circulated for signatures, Kerns said.

On the other side, Steve Smith, campaign manager for No on Proposition 8, applauded the language change.

"What Proposition 8 would do is eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, which is exactly what the attorney general put in the title of the measure," he said. "It will be very difficult for them to win the case."

Political analysts on both sides suggest that the language change will make passage of the initiative more difficult, noting that voters might be more reluctant to pass a measure that makes clear it is taking away existing rights.

Well I guess they are screwed then, because right now same-sex couples have the right to marry in California. If Proposition 8 passes on November 4, same-sex couples will not have that right. So, clearly Proposition 8 is "eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry"!

In reporter Jessica Garrison's Los Angeles Times story there is some speculation that 2010 gubernatorial politics came into play in the revision of the ballot title and summary, since Attorney General Jerry Brown gets to revise the ballot titles and summaries, and he has delivered a much-appreciated boost to the LGBT community by revising Proposition 8's title and summary to more closely reflect reality. His main political rivals for the Governor's office in 2010 include gay-rights champions Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa who have both been associated more closely with gay marriage. Jerry Brown's office represented the State of California in defending its discriminatory marriage laws that were struck down by the California Supreme Court in May so he had to take some action to show his progressive bona fides on this issue. In fact, it's actually pretty difficult to find out exactly what Jerry Brown's own position on gay marriage is, since as Governor he signed the original law defining marriage between a man and a woman (that was also struck down by the court) in the 1970s. Presumably, sometime before June 2, 2010 he will make his position on gay marriage known to the voters of California!