Gay leaders mull taking fight to 2010 vote

By LISA LEFF – 26 January 2009

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gay rights activists are weighing the wisdom of rushing in front of voters a repeal of the state ballot measure that banned gay marriage.

While two initiatives seeking to undo Proposition 8 — the voter-approved measure — already have been submitted to the Secretary of State, pro-gay marriage leaders say 2010 may be too soon to bring the issue back before voters.

"There is one thing worse than losing Prop. 8, and that would be losing again," said Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles political consultant who organized Hollywood's opposition to the ban. He was speaking to about 400 activists who gathered for a statewide planning summit here Saturday.

Although several legal challenges are pending before the California Supreme Court, the option of another ballot fight has been discussed as a backup strategy since Proposition 8 passed with 52 percent of the vote on Nov. 4. The court could render a decision as early as June.

If the Supreme Court upholds the measure, that would leave same-sex marriage supporters with a viable, but very tight window in which to prepare and pull off a November 2010 rematch, said John Henning, executive director of the gay marriage group Love Honor Cherish.

"The deadline for us to be gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative would actually be this fall," Henning said. "We have to raise money, we have to train people how to gather these signatures and we have to get 10,000 people out doing something they may not be comfortable doing."

One of the initiatives submitted to the state for approval this month, launched by a gay rights group in Davis, would repeal Proposition 8 outright. The second, initiated by two Los Angeles residents, would eliminate marriage as a state-sanctioned institution and replace it with domestic partnerships for couples gay and straight.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said she understands the urgency gay marriage supporters feel. But ultimately, a decision on timing would have to be based on "what makes the most strategic and political sense" and "a full appreciation of the enormity of such an undertaking," she said. (read more)

In this Nov. 5, 2008 file photo Joni Boettcher, left, kisses her roommate Tika Shenghur during a "No on Prop 8'' protest rally in West Hollywood , Calif. Gay rights activists are weighing the wisdom of rushing a repeal of Proposition 8 to the 2010 ballot if California's highest court upholds the state's same-sex marriage ban. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)