I have read that this is already implied in the State Constitution which required that the state legislature, or a constitutional convention, be convened first in order to forward (by a super majority) any amendment to the state constitution for a public vote if the amendment under consideration affects any substantial change to the basic structure of the state constitution.

The California Supreme Court has already ruled that homosexuals are a “suspect” or “protected” class of citizens under the state constitution. That ruling implies that the rights they share with heterosexuals are henceforth protected from public referenda as set forth by the California Equal Protection Clause in the California State Constitution.

In essence, it means that if laws were changed that either limited or expanded the rights of homosexuals then those changes in law, in effect, would also limit or expand the rights of heterosexuals. Proposition 8, if passed, would be in conflict with the California Equal Protection Clause as it exists today after the ruling. The California Equal Protection Clause would have to be re-written specifically to exclude homosexuals — this could only be accomplished by another state constitutional amendment which would first require a super-majority of the state legislators before being passed onto the people of California.

If passed, that would, no doubt, open the door to a challenge before the US Supreme Court, such as in Romer -v- Evans, where the court found the state of Colorado had violated the US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection clause when it passed Amendment 2 that declared that homosexuals could not even petition their elected representative for equal rights in the state. Animus is no justification for denying equal protection, the court ruled.

////”[C]lass legislation . . . [is] obnoxious to the prohibitions of the Fourteenth Amendment . . . .” Civil Rights Cases, 109 U. S., at 24. …We must conclude that Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals not to further a proper legislative end but to make them unequal to everyone else.” ~ US Supreme Court Justice Kennedy wrote in Romer -v- Evans as the court struck down Colorado‘s Amendment 2.///

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/94-1039.ZO.html

So, Californians, how about adding something positive in the nature of advancing human rights for a change to the framework of the law? If a “Prop 9“, that clarifies the limits of public referenda, is voted upon it could serve to educate people. If it passes then it would further codify the law; if it fails, then that negative outcome would be moot, but it would still serve to remind people that “a provision against overturning fundamental rights by a citizens’ initiative ” already exists in the California State Constitution, and it cannot be changed by a public referendum.

It’s worth a try to make this clearer to future courts, and especially to put a finer point on it as it pertains to unremitting assaults on human rights caused by the hateful rabble-rousers out to poison the community well by seeking power at our expense and for their own profit. Unfortunately, bigotry is still a booming business both for unethical politicians and for immoral religions groups who pervert human decency for personal gain.

What will these manipulators of group-hate do when they don’t have the GLBT community to kick around anymore? I think that scenario frightens these sociopath miscreants to no end. We should all dedicate our lives to making sure that nightmare comes true for them.

~ Bud Evans
http://rainfish2000.blogspot.com

Grassroots online fundraising campaign against Proposition 8 by eight lesbian bloggers shatters goal less than midway through the campaign

Three days ago, eight lesbian bloggers set out to raise $8,000 in eight days to help defeat Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in the State of California.

What happened next exceeded their expectations.

Donations started rolling in by the thousands of dollars per day. Less than three full days into the campaign, the eight bloggers against Prop 8 reached their initial goal of $8,000. “I am still in shock at how quickly and effectively the community responded to the 8 Against 8 campaign,” said Renee Gannon of http://www.lesbiatopia.com. “The money donated and the excitement generated in three short days have far surpassed what I ever could have imagined that we would accomplish in eight days, never mind three.”

The eight bloggers intend to continue raising money for No on Prop 8 through the “8 Against 8” campaign, expressing the urgency of fighting Proposition 8. “We’re going to keep ‘8 Against 8’ going for the full eight days,” said Grace Chu of
http://www.gracethespot.com and http://www.afterellen.com. “Equality California’s No on Prop 8 campaign needs every cent they can get to defeat this atrocious ballot initiative,” she continued. “We cannot afford to lose our momentum in this crucial time leading up to the election. We’ve smashed our goal of $8,000. Now let’s keep the donations coming in to smash Proposition 8.”

Dorothy Snarker of http://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com and http://www.afterellen.com echoed Chu’s sentiments. “Reaching our goal in three days is amazing and a testament to the generosity and passion of all of our readers,” said Snarker. “But just because we reached $8,000 doesn’t mean we should stop pushing for more. Polls show the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ votes are almost dead-even. We can’t let intolerance win because we couldn’t afford to fight hatred head-on.”

The 8 Against 8 fundraising effort continues through October 27th. Donations can be made at the following URL: http://www.8against8.com. 100% of all donations made through “8 Against 8” goes directly to Equality California’s No on Prop 8 campaign.

“Knowing that the legalization of gay marriage will inevitably unleash the wrath of God on our state (fire, brimstone, throngs of demons), do you support it?”

Also, as noted since this is a “push poll” it isn’t credible.

The last real poll from 10/17/08 released from Survey USA had No on 8 behind 48-45%. More realistic. (Their last ad “Unfair” had only been out 2 days.)

The PPIC poll is encouraging, but we need to keep donating, keep volunteering, keep talking to friends & family about voting no. We have 12 days to turn these numbers into a reality.