(AgapePress) - A California state court judge has denied the request of several homosexual advocacy groups to intervene in a lawsuit challenging California's domestic partnership law.

A lawsuit filed by Liberty Counsel claims that California's recently-signed domestic partnership law violates Proposition 22, which limits marriage to one man and one woman. According to Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver, a number of homosexual-rights groups, along with the State of California, attempted to intervene in the suit.

Mat Staver

Staver reports that homosexual activists came out in force against the lawsuit, with "about six different organizations, some 20 different individuals, plus 11 attorneys that were on the case." However, he says, "the great news is the state court judge denied the homosexual groups the right to intervene."

Staver regards the court's decision as a big victory. He says the question of whether the pro-homosexual activist groups would be allowed intervener status was "a critical moment for us in the case."

Staver says had they been permitted to intervene, "these homosexual groups would have used a California law that would have allowed them to come after the plaintiffs, our clients, for attorneys fees in the event that we were unsuccessful at some point in the future." The Counsel's spokesman says that prospect would have been such a problematic hurdle that "it's doubtful that our clients would have gone forward."

The court has set a hearing date of November 12 on Liberty Counsel's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop California's domestic partner law from going into effect.

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