Free Republic

Prop 19 went down in smoke, but the world's fifth biggest economy passed three propositions that address its yearly budget crisis. One makes it better and two make it worse, according to Bond Buyer. First, California voters passed Prop 25 to allow the legislature to pass a state budget without a 2/3 supermajority. This was the main obstacle to passing a budget this year for over 100 days past due. Arkansas and Rhode Island are the only states that still require a supermajority to pass the budget, and Rhode Island is another fiscal disaster. Second, California voters passed Prop 26...

Case No. 8168047 IN THE Supreme Court of the State of California KAREN 1. STRAUSS et al., Petitioners, v. MARK B. HORTON, as State Registrar of Vital Statistics, etc., et al., Respondents; DENNIS HOLLINGSWORTH et al., Interveners. INTERVENERS' OPPOSITION BRIEF KENNETH W. STARR (Bar No. 58382) 24569 Via De Casa Malibu, CA 90265-3205 Telephone: (310) 506-4621 Facsimile: (310) 506-4266 ANDREW P. PUGNO (Bar No. 206587) LAW OFFICES OF ANDREW P. PUGNO 101 Parkshore Dr Ste 100 Folsom, CA 95630-4726 Telephone: (916) 608-3065 Facsimile: (916) 608-3066 Email: andrew@pugnolaw.com Attorneys for Interveners TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES iii ISSUES PRESENTED 1...

You wouldn't have picked up on it during the debates, but John McCain and Barack Obama actually agree on some issues. One of them is gay marriage. Both candidates oppose the concept, preferring instead the squishy alternative of civil unions. They're both wrong. I can sympathize. In 2000, when 61 percent of California voters approved Proposition 22, a ballot measure that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, I opposed gay marriage. I felt gay-rights activists should concentrate on a more achievable goal such as a federal civil rights bill outlawing private-sector discrimination based on sexual orientation. Then...

On May 15, four California Supreme Court judges brazenly overturned more than four million California voters, 2000 years of human history, common sense and even common decency. So how did Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger react? “You know, I’m wishing everyone good luck with their marriages and I hope that California’s economy is booming because everyone is going to come here and get married,” he said to the Environmental Defense Fund last week. Arnie’s strategy has not worked so well for the GOP in California, but fortunately neither the governor nor the politicians, nor the out-of-control judges, will have the last word...

They say we are tired of culture wars. Tell that to the California Supreme Court, which didn't sound tired at all when it lobbed a big, fat hand grenade into the marriage debate. Ideas have consequences. And the California court endorsed two big, brand-new, very bad ideas. The first idea is that the internationally recognized human right to marry includes same-sex marriage. In U.S. constitutional law, fundamental human rights are those deeply rooted in our traditions. Not even in Massachussetts or in New Jersey could the courts quite stomach the idea that same-sex marriage is deeply rooted in those traditions....

The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled today that California's marriage laws banning same-sex marriage do not violate the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians.

(Talon News) -- Homosexual advocates in California are hailing a new law that went into effect on January 1 that established "gay marriage" in the state. Assembly Bill 205 grants "all rights, protections, and benefits" of married couples to registered domestic partners. The new law was authored by lesbian Assembly member Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) and passed in 2003. It was supported by 66 out of 73 Democratic legislators, opposed by every Republican legislator, and signed by former Gov. Gray Davis shortly before he was recalled. A Sacramento Superior Court judge, Loren McMaster, ruled that the law should take effect...

Bill legalizing gay marriage in Calif. shelved for now LISA LEFF Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO - A bill that would allow same-sex couples to get married in California will die in a legislative committee and then be reintroduced at the end of the year with backing from the Assembly speaker and other prominent Democrats, the measure's author said. Assemblyman Mark Leno said in an interview Tuesday that he has agreed to keep his "Marriage License Nondiscrimination Act" off the Assembly floor during the current legislative session by not pressing to have it voted on in the Appropriations Committee, where the...

Apathetic Christians Partly to Blame, Says Conservative Radio Host [Los Angeles radio talk-show host Paul McGuire] (AgapePress) - California State Assemblyman Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco, has put together a coalition of 20 State Assembly members to challenge the present wording of California law that defines traditional marriage. His proposal would eliminate the words "a man and a woman" from the law and replace it with "persons" in the state charter defining marriage. If passed, Assembly Bill 1976 -- co-authored by Leno -- will effectively overturn Proposition 22, a measure that was approved by 4.6 million voters (61%...

The State; Accusations of Fraud in S.F. Mayoral Election Spur Probes; Charges of electioneering and voter intimidation confront Gavin Newsom, whose office has vowed to clean up city politics.:[HOME EDITION] Lee Romney. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Feb 2, 2004. pg. B.5 Dateline: SAN FRANCISCO Section: California Metro; Part B; Metro Desk ISSN/ISBN: 04583035 Text Word Count 945 Abstract (Article Summary) Newly elected Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris opened her own investigation after a group of activists who had worked for Newsom's opponent alleged that minority residents had been intimidated and prevented from voting, and that some ballots may have...