Opinion: Same-Sex marriage ban stays on the ballot

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The state Supreme Court just denied a petition to remove Proposition 8 from the Nov. 4 ballot. If passed, Proposition 8 would restrict marriage in California to man-woman unions. For the official word, look here. For background, see here and here.

UPDATE: The court’s decision was unanimous. The justices did not elaborate on their decision but merely indicated by order that the petition was denied. The action took place this morning at the court’s weekly Wednesday conference.

The Proposition 8 opponents who asked the justices to strike the measure from the ballot argued, in papers filed June 20, that voters could not eliminate or diminish a fundamental constitutional right, and that the state high court’s 4-3 ruling May 15 making marriage available to couples regardless of gender established such a fundamental constitutional right. Changing it, the petitioners argued, would go beyond a constitutional amendment and instead amount to a constitutional revision, which can be placed on the ballot only by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or by a constitutional convention.

The court’s decision does leave open the possibility of further action on amendment-versus-revision grounds after the vote -- if Proposition 8 passes.