Gay-Rights Backers Sue to Block Prop 8

Supporters of gay marriage in California are going to court following the defeat of Proposition 8, filing suit today in a long-shot bid to overturn the voters’ decision, the Los Angeles Times reports. They argue that the ballot measure illegally takes away rights of a minority group and amounts to a constitutional revision. Only the state legislature can change the state constitution, they say.

“A major purpose of the Constitution is to protect minorities from majorities,” said an ACLU lawyer who helped file the suit on behalf of six unmarried gay couples. Opponents of gay marriage were unconvinced. “If they want to legalize gay marriage, what they should do is bring an initiative themselves and ask the people to approve it,” said one. “But they don't. They go behind the people's back to the courts.” (More California stories.)