California’s Election Matters

Voting us underway in California for the November election. Maura Dolan at LATimes.com reminds us about one reason why this election is important to marriage and family.

A law professor who supports [neutering state marriage licensing] said Thursday that the race for California attorney general "could end up mattering so much to the future of Proposition 8," the 2008 voter measure that reinstated a ban on same-sex marriage.

The constitutional amendment that was adopted was not a ban.

Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, the Republican candidate for attorney general, has promised to defend Proposition 8. His opponent, San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris, a Democrat, has said she would not challenge a federal court ruling that found the measure unconstitutional.

I'm voting for Cooley.

UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, speaking at a news conference sponsored by Equality California, a [marriage neutering] group, said a decision by the next attorney general to defend the [constitutional amendment] would "significantly" delay a federal appeals' court decision on the proposition's legality and probably influence the ultimate ruling.

I hope he's right.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown clearly have authority to appeal, but have decided against it.

Remember that Brown is running for Governor.

Chemerinsky said the election of Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate for governor, also could help Proposition 8's chances on appeal. Whitman, who as governor could intervene in the case, has said the state should be defending Proposition 8.

I'm voting for Whitman.