ADF attorney available to media following Prop. 8 ballot title hearinghttp://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4635 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY
ADF attorney available to media ADF, ProtectMarriage attorneys: Language of ballot title is prejudicial, biased
WHO: ADF Legal Counsel Timothy Chandler WHAT: Answering questions from the media following hearing in Jansson v. Bowen WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 7, at 1:30 p.m. PDT WHERE: Gordon D. Schaber Downtown Courthouse, 720 9th St., Sacramento SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counsel Timothy Chandler will be available for media interviews following a hearing in Jansson v. Bowen, a lawsuit filed by proponents of Proposition 8, the proposed California marriage amendment, over inappropriate wording changes made to the ballot title by the state attorney general. ADF and ProtectMarriage attorneys are asking the court to order the attorney general to comply with the law regarding fair and unbiased phrasing for the title. “Election ballot titles should be neutral and not intentionally prejudice voters,” said Chandler. “It’s the AG’s job to provide a fair and unbiased ballot title and summary. The AG’s job is to apply the law in a way that’s fair to all Californians, not in a way that influences elections. Furthermore, this ballot title is simply not accurate. The purpose of the amendment is to protect marriage broadly as the union of one man and one woman, not to eliminate same-sex ‘marriage’ specifically.” The attorney general changed the ballot title on Proposition 8, also known as the California Marriage Protection Act, from “limit on marriage” to “eliminates right of same-sex couples to marry.” More than a million Californians signed official petitions containing the original ballot title language in order to put Proposition 8 on the November ballot. If approved by voters, Proposition 8 would add the following words to California’s constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” In July, the California Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by anti-amendment groups that sought to remove Proposition 8 from the ballot (www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4611). The petition for writ of mandate filed by ADF and ProtectMarriage attorneys in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, in Jansson v. Bowen is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/JanssonWM.pdf. A fact sheet on the lawsuit is available at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/JanssonFactSheet.pdf. ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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