Dismissal of same-sex marriage ban sought

SAN FRANCISCO, July 2 (UPI) -- Same-sex marriage supporters are asking California's courts to throw out a ballot initiative seeking to restrict same-sex unions.

Attorneys for gay rights activists say the petitions that produced the measure to amend the state's constitution were inaccurately worded. The petitions drew 1.1 million signatures and resulted in Proposition 8, called the California Marriage Protection Act, to be placed on the November ballot, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The petitions read: "Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." But that statement became inaccurate and misleading after the California Supreme Court ruled in May that same-sex marriages in the state were legal, gay rights advocates argue in a lawsuit filed June 20 seeking to throw out the ballot initiative.

"The need for accurate disclosure is particularly acute when the proposed measure will have a profound effect on fundamental rights," lawyers argue.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office approved the petitions, urged the court Tuesday to reject arguments that signers were misled, the Times said. The wording of petitions "should not be required to speculate about how the law might be affected by pending litigation," he wrote.