By Lynn D. Wardle and Randy Thomasson
April 27, 2005

(AgapePress) - No lawmaker is above the law or the people. Yet state legislators who are pushing AB 19 show no respect for the constitution, laws or people of California.

AB 19, which would issue same-sex "marriage" licenses in every county in California, passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 26.

Coauthored by 30 Democrats, AB 19 would repeal the people's vote on marriage. Displaying these legislators' sense of superiority over the voters, AB 19 is as good or bad an example of arrogance you can find. The Democrats who have coauthored this same-sex "marriage" bill apparently think they're above the law and above the voters.

Five years ago, 61.4 percent of Californians approved Proposition 22, the Protection of Marriage Initiative. The 14 words of the initiative were carefully crafted, reading: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

The main author of AB 19, Democrat Assemblyman Mark Leno of San Francisco, claims that Prop. 22 forbids recognition of same-sex marriages from other states while allowing the creation of same-sex marriage here.

Mr. Leno is wrong. The drafters of Prop. 22 anticipated his ploy and wrote Prop. 22 to specify only man-woman marriages are "valid" in California.

The legal terms "valid" and "recognized" mean important things. To "recognize" is to acknowledge, confirm, and give legal effect. It has both domestic and interjurisdictional application. In a conflict of laws, to "recognize" means one jurisdiction acknowledges and gives legal effect to rights created in another jurisdiction.

Even stronger is "valid." According the Black's Law Dictionary, "valid" means to have "legal strength or force," "good or sufficient in point of law; efficacious" and "sustainable and effective in law."

By using the phrase "valid or recognized," Proposition 22 makes it absolutely clear that same-sex marriage will not be legal in California -- whether imported from other states or created here. The California Court of Appeals in Knight v. Superior Court held exactly that in a unanimous ruling earlier this month.

Where does this leave us? The California State Constitution provides that voter-approved initiatives cannot be overturned by mere legislation. This standard applies the people's vote on marriage, thus rendering AB 19 unlawful and unconstitutional.

The state Legislature simply cannot create "same-sex marriage." The politicians cannot repeal the people's vote.

If the Democrats who introduced AB 19 wish to delete the phrase "a man and a woman" from California's marriage laws (which the bill actually proposes to do), they must first convince the voters to pass another ballot proposition creating same-sex "marriage" statewide.

However, unlike the widespread abundance of political arrogance in Sacramento, voters are unlikely to change their minds on something as sacred as marriage. Given the increased attacks upon marriage by judges and politicians, it is predictable that Californians will ultimately pass an amendment protecting marriage once and for all in the state constitution.

As marriage for a man and a woman is completely natural, voter backlash against out-of-touch politicians is both a natural and beneficial check in our democracy.