August 19, 2008
History remembers George Herbert, the 17th Century Welsh poet and priest of the Church of England, as a kind man who always put the care of his parishioners first. He also put a high value on words, saying, “
Good words are worth much, and cost little.” If only that were true in California today.
On the Left Coast, words are at the center of a frustrating legal battle for pro-marriage advocates represented by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys. The words we’re fighting over are neither good nor cheap.
In November, Californians will vote on Proposition 8, which was known as the “California Marriage Protection Act.” For countless voters, the wording of a proposition and its title on their ballot may determine their choice in the booth. That’s why our attorneys are concerned that the state attorney general (remember that former governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown is now the state attorney general) changed the title, and his description of the proposition, to “warn” voters that a yes vote “ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY.”
Will that phrasing tug at many voters’ emotions? Will it create confusion? It’s designed to. The new language is unfair and, in our lawyers’ opinion, designed to influence the vote.
California state election law requires ballot titles to be fair and unbiased. Because the attorney general chose not to follow that law, ADF attorneys appealed to the courts, asking them to change the ballot language back to Proposition 8’s original – and more neutral – title, which simply read: “LIMIT ON MARRIAGE.” Unfortunately, our appeals were not successful.
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Election ballot titles should not intentionally prejudice voters,” said ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco. “
The ballot title is argumentative and not impartial.”
More than a million Californians signed official petitions containing the original ballot title language in order to put Proposition 8 on the November ballot to overturn the bizarre ruling by their Supreme Court in May fabricating same-sex “marriage.” Our friends at ProtectMarriage.com are working hard in the Golden State to make sure voters know the truth about Proposition 8—that the measure adds the following words to California’s constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” After all, those are the words that matter.
George Herbert’s value of words may be inflated, but our common faith is not. Another well-known man of the cloth, from a more recent generation, also had a strong view on words. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Remember, friends, we are not silent! Neither are our friends in California. Pray that the legal efforts of ADF would be successful so that voters have the right to express their opinion that marriage is the precious union God intended – between one man and one woman!