Gay Marriage Foes Sue Attorney General

SAN FRANCISCO -- The sponsors of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in California has filed suit against Attorney General Bill Lockyer over over the summary his department provided to describe the measure.

The lawsuit claims Attorney General Bill Lockyer inaccurately described the measure, which would also take away same-sex domestic partnership rights already provided to same-sex couples in California.

While the conservative supporters of the measure want the summary to emphasize the purpose of the amendment, which they claim to be to protect marriage, Attorney General Bill Lockyer chose to focus on the amendment's effect when it comes to removing rights that are already in place for same-sex couples.

Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar defended the attorney general's decision, saying "The title and summary is 100 percent accurate in describing what the initiative would do. It wipes out registered domestic partner rights and obligations that currently exist in California law."

After the Attorney General's office recently approved the petition, the supporters of the measure can now start collecting the 598,105 names needed to get the question put on the November 2006 ballot. Due to duplication and other errors, it's expected that the group would need about 1 million signatures to get the measure approved.