BALTIMORE — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a motion Wednesday asking a Maryland court to allow voters to defend a petition being challenged by advocates of homosexual behavior even though the signatures have already been certified. A citizen voter coalition collected substantially more than the required number of signatures for the referendum petition, which gives voters their right to be heard on a county bill that extends special legal protections based on "gender identity."
"In America, every citizen’s voice counts. The signatures on these petitions are valid, so these citizens should not be denied the right to have their vote count in an important referendum," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. "In Maryland, the people are the ultimate legislative authority and they must be heard."
The lawsuit challenges the petition process and various signatures and was filed shortly after the Montgomery County Board of Elections certified them. ADF attorneys filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit, Doe v. Montgomery County Board of Elections, on behalf of Citizens for Responsible Government to protect the interests of the voters of Montgomery County.
"No evidence has been presented to show that any of the signatures are invalid or that these registered voters should not take part in the democratic process," said Nimocks. "The political agenda of an activist group cannot be allowed to disenfranchise the voters of an entire county. The referendum simply allows the people of Montgomery County to decide the issue."
A copy of the motion to intervene and supporting memorandum of law filed with the Maryland Circuit Court for Montgomery County is available at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/CCFRG-MTI.pdf.
ADF attorneys recently appealed a decision in Oregon preventing voters there from exercising their right to vote on a "domestic partnership" law (
www.telladf.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4417).
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
www.telladf.org