Louisiana Court Thwarts Bid to Prevent State Marriage Amendment
by Fred Jackson and Jenni Parker
August 11, 2004
(AgapePress) - In Louisiana, a judge has dismissed an attempt to stop the September 18 vote on a state constitutional amendment to protect traditional marriage.
The proposed amendment, which would cement a same-sex marriage ban into the constitution of the State of Louisiana, was challenged Friday in state court. The amendment also includes wording that could be interpreted as banning the extension of domestic partnership benefits to unmarried couples.
Approved by Louisiana lawmakers, the measure is set to be voted on by the citizens in September. However, a group opposing the amendment has filed a lawsuit, claiming the legislature illegally approved it. According to Associated Press, a supporter of the amendment called the suit "an act of desperation" by same-sex marriage proponents upset over the recent 71 percent approval of a homosexual marriage ban by Missouri voters.
The challenge to the Louisiana amendment was brought jointly by several parties. The group includes a homosexual man who fears the amendment could outlaw existing legal contracts governing his relationship with his male partner; a lesbian woman who is concerned that it could affect her legal arrangements with her female partner and their children; and a man who is against same-sex marriage but favors government recognition of same-sex civil unions.
State Senator John Hainkel (R-New Orleans), a co-sponsor of the amendment, described the group's claims as "silly" and the suit as same-sex marriage proponents' "reaction to the whipping they got in Missouri." But Hainkel insists the amendment would not affect private contracts between individuals or prohibit private companies from extending benefits to employees' same-sex partners.
Still, attorney Randy Evans argued that the amendment was illegally approved by the Louisiana legislature, and that if allowed to proceed to the voters, it would deny some citizens their constitutional rights to equal protection and to control their own property.
However, assistant Attorney General Roy Mongrue argued successfully that the election challenge was not appropriately addressed in that venue: Civil District Judge Nadine Ramsey agreed and told the plaintiffs their lawsuit should have been filed in the state capital, Baton Rouge. The group is expected to refile the suit there by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, Christian activists around the state are lauding the legislators and calling upon fellow citizens to support the amendment. In a recent statement, Baton Rouge pastor Larry Bizette noted that 67 percent of Louisianans support the amendment to protect marriage in their state. "We must not allow a few people to try to dictate what the majority of the people in Louisiana do not believe in or agree with," he said. "I commend the senators and representatives in this legislature who have offered a constitutional amendment to protect the definition of marriage in Louisiana."
Bizette noted that in 1998 Louisiana became the first state in the nation to pass a "covenant marriage law," and he pointed out the significance of passing a state constitutional marriage amendment, calling it another opportunity for the state to show leadership in standing up for what is right as "a great state under God!"
