NOM: California Supreme Court Overturns Prop 22

National Organization for Marriage California

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAY 15, 2008

CONTACT: Elizabeth Ray (x130) or Mary Beth Hutchins (x105), 703-683-5004

NOTE: The California Supreme Court decision is available on the court’s website at: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S147999.PDF

CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS PROP 22

“National Organization for Marriage-California Will Lead the Fight to Protect Marriage this November,” vows NOM-CA Executive Director Brian Brown

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court released its decision today overturning Proposition 22, which had defined marriage as between one man and one woman.

“Thanks to the more than 1 million Californians who signed petitions, these out-of-touch California judges will not have the last word on marriage,” says Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage California (NOM-CA), “California voters will.”

NOM-CA is a San Diego-based “primarily formed ballot initiative committee,” under California law, which worked with Protect Marriage to get a state marriage amendment on the ballot. NOM-CA raised almost $1 million and helped collect over 1.1 million signatures to put a constitutional amendment before voters this November; the signatures submitted April 24th are awaiting certification by the California Secretary of States’ office.

“A state marriage amendment is the only way to put Prop 22 safely from the reach of activist judges who cannot tell the difference between marriage and bigotry,” said Brown, “We call on gay marriage advocates to halt the divisive and intolerant rhetoric which cruelly and falsely labels millions of Californians as ‘hate mongers’ because we support marriage as the union of husband and wife.”

California is the only court to follow Massachusetts’ lead in ordering same-sex marriage. Courts in New York, Washington and Maryland recently rejected arguments that marriage laws are discriminatory, and voters in 27 states including Oregon and Wisconsin have passed state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of husband and wife. State constitutional marriage amendments will be before the voters in both California and Florida this November.

“I’m very disappointed, but not surprised, that this divided and divisive California court chose the latest divisive PC-slogan over the 2000 years of human experience our marriage traditions represent,” said Brown, “We will take this fight for marriage to the people of California this November and we expect to win.”