JURIST - Paper Chase: GA Supreme Court approves referendum on same-sex marriage ban

[JURIST] The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the placement on the November 2 ballot of a proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage against a challenge brought by the ACLU of Georgia and several other groups. The court, by a 5-2 margin, ruled that the courts could not intervene in the referendum process and that the parties challenging the amendment would have to wait until after the election before challenging the amendment.

The fallacy in Appellants’ argument is their insistence that they have a legal right not to participate in an election wherein a proposed constitutional amendment may not withstand judicial scrutiny in the event it is passed. However, their rights are limited to those available to any other citizen of this state who is opposed to proposed legislation. They are entitled to campaign against enactment of the proposed amendment and, if they are unsuccessful in that effort, they may bring a challenge to its constitutionality on any arguably meritorious basis. At this time, however, they have no right to invoke the power of the judiciary to enjoin enactment of legislation or adoption of a proposed constitutional amendment...

Read the full opinion [PDF]. A summary of the opinion is available here. The proposed text of the amendment can be read here (scroll down). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more.

Previously on JURIST’s Paper Chase….

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...