Anti-Prop 8 Resolutions Senate and Assembly

Resolutions Against Voters' Sovereign Power
Pass Assembly and Senate 

SACRAMENTO, Mar 2, 2009 -- Both houses of the California legislature passed resolutions challenging the soveriegn power of the voters and calling for the over turn of Proposition 8. See how your legislators voted.

On February 24California Senate Judiciary Committee passed SR7 on a straight 3-2 party-line vote advocating the overturn of Proposition 8. The week before, the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed the Assembly version, HR 5 also on a straight party-line vote (7-3).

Opponents are working hard and putting tremendous pressure on legislators to go on record against the passage of Prop 8 and send a powerful message to the Supreme Court that will hear the challenges to the constitutional amendment on March 5. While resolutions have no force of law, this represents an outrageous demonstration of arrogance by certain legislators who are advocating against the sovereign power of the voters.

The resolutions raise two points:

First, that Prop 8 was a constitutional revision (rather than an amendment), which would have required the legislature's review and approval before it went on the ballot. This is basis of the challenge by three lawsuits filed against Prop 8, an argument that was undercut by the brief Attorney General Jerry Brown submitted to the Supreme Court in December.

Second, opponents continue to maintain that defining marriage between a man and a woman discriminates against the “fundamental right” of a protected minority. This preposterous claim of a fundamental right (to which the word “inalienable” has been added in the resolution) has gone unanswered for too long.

There is no such right. What is fundamental is the public interest in the traditional qualification for marriage – sexual complementarity* – as the voters reasserted in November.

* Only a man and a woman form a "complete" human unit for generating new life.

How legislators voted on the Assembly and Senate floor . For votes at the committee level see below:

Noreen Evans (D)                    YES
Phone: (916) 319-2007
Fax: (916) 319-2107

Dave Jones (D)                       YES
Phone: (916) 319-2009
Fax: 916 319 2109
 
Steve Knight (R)                      NO
Phone: (916) 319-2036
Fax: (916) 319-2136
 
Paul Krekorian                        YES
Phone: (916) 319-2043
Fax: (916) 319-2143
 
Ted Lieu (D)                           YES
Phone: (916) 319-2053
Fax: (916) 319-2153

Bill Monning  (D)                     YES
Phone: (916) 319-2027
Fax: (916) 319-2127

Jim Nielsen (R)                       NO
Phone: (916) 319-2002
Fax: (916) 319-2102