While advocates of the new marriage amendment were elated over the certification of 123,356 signatures, homosexual activists had earlier announced their plan to challenge the referendum early in the new year.
GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) is the same extremist group that brought us the Goodridge lawsuit. And what court will hear the case? The Mass. Supreme Judicial Court. So watch out. We don't know what VoteOnMarriage.org has as a backup plan if their marriage amendment petition is thrown out by the Court.
From Bay Windows, "See You in Court," Dec. 1, 2005:
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) has announced that if enough signatures are certified to send a ballot question asking voters to amend the state constitution to ban civil marriages of lesbian and gay couples, it will file suit charging that the ballot question should never have been certified by Attorney General Tom Reilly in the first place.
Gary Buseck, legal director of GLAD, said that if registrars certify at least 65,825 signatures, enough to send the ballot question to the Legislature, where it will need the approval of at least 50 legislators in two consecutive legislative sessions before proceeding to voters, GLAD will file suit early next year against both Reilly and Secretary of State William Galvin to bring the petition process to a halt.
Buseck said GLAD's argument in the suit will be that the certification of the petition violated Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, which lays out the rules for initiative petitions and explicitly bans petitions that relate to "the reversal of a judicial decision." Buseck said it is clear that the intent of the marriage amendment petition is to overturn the Goodridge decision, and it clearly falls under Article 48's list of excluded subjects for petitions.
