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Published: July 30, 2008

“A complete about-face”

Attorney General Jerry Brown changes wording of the ballot initiative to protect marriage; backers of Proposition 8 threaten a lawsuit

Proponents of same-sex marriage are applauding state Attorney General Jerry Brown for changing the wording of Proposition 8, the state ballot initiative that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The original wording of Proposition 8 read that the measure “amends the California Constitution to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” But last week, Brown’s office made public the November ballot initiative’s new wording. The title has been changed from “Limit on Marriage Constitutional Amendment” to “Eliminates Right of Same-sex Couples to Marry,” and the summary now reads: “Changes California Constitution to eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

The new summary notes that the initiative could lead to “revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments.” The new summary, however, indicates there would be “likely little fiscal impact to state and local governments.”

Gareth Lacy, a Brown spokesman, told the July 29 Los Angeles Times that the change in language was necessary in the wake of the state Supreme Court’s decision recognizing same-sex marriage as a right. Changes in initiative wording often occur, said Lacy, between the time initiatives are circulated and their appearance on the ballot.

"What Proposition 8 would do is eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, which is exactly what the attorney general put in the title of the measure," Steve Smith, campaign manager for No on Proposition 8, told the Times. "It will be very difficult for them to win the case."

Both sides agree that the language change makes Proposition 8 a harder sell, since it asks voters to approve a measure that removes an existing right. Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman for Protect Marriage, the group which has backed the initiative, called the new language “inherently argumentative.”

"This is a complete about-face from the ballot title that was assigned" when the initiative was submitted for signature gathering, Kerns told the Times.

The initiative’s backers have said they will file a lawsuit to challenge the initiative’s new wording.

Meanwhile, a July 18 Field Poll showed support for the initiative lagging, with 42% of voters surveyed saying they support the initiative and 51% saying they oppose it. Protect Marriage, however, claims that the Field Poll consistently understates Californian support for protecting marriage.

Frank Schubert, Proposition 8 campaign manager, in a posting on the Protect Marriage web site noted that “during Proposition 22, the Field Poll reported that support for that initiative was approximately 50% in the months leading up to the election, while the measure received more than 61% of votes at the ballot box.” However, in May of this year, continued Schubert, “when Field was reporting that support for [Proposition 8] was at 40%, the Los Angeles Times survey found support at 54%. Over the years Field has consistently understated support for the initiative by a minimum of 10 percent.”

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