Oklahoma to vote on marriage amendment

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Supporters of traditional marriage claimed a victory in Oklahoma last week, while supporters of homosexual "marriage" made headway in California.

In Oklahoma, lawmakers approved an amendment to the state constitution that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and disallow recognition of same-sex unions from elsewhere.

This means Oklahoma voters will join voters in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah this November in deciding whether to define traditional marriage and reject out-of-state same-sex "marriages" in their state constitutions.

In California last week, an Assembly panel approved a bill to legalize homosexual "marriage."

The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, said it was the first time a legislative body has voted to support same-sex "marriage." Mr. Leno is one of five openly homosexual members of the California Assembly.

The Leno bill now goes to another committee to see how much it will cost to change the California Family Code to allow marriage between "two persons" instead of just one man and one woman.

The fate of the 4,161 "marriage" licenses issued to same-sex couples in February and March by San Francisco remains in limbo, pending a hearing before the California Supreme Court.

By Friday, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer and the Alliance Defense Fund, representing traditional-marriage plaintiffs, all filed their arguments to the high court on how it should rule on the validity of the licenses.

It is expected that the California Supreme Court will hold a hearing in late May or early June on the fate of the licenses and whether San Francisco overstepped its bounds by issuing them. The court should issue its ruling 90 days after the hearing.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts remains on track to issue the nation's first legal "marriage" licenses to same-sex couples on May 17, although supporters of traditional marriage are pursuing three last-ditch strategies to delay the licenses:

• In the House, state Rep. Emile Goguen has introduced a bill of address that seeks to recall the four Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justices who legalized same-sex "marriage." Some 150 activists held a rally Thursday to support the bill, which needs approval by the House, Senate and Gov. Mitt Romney to become effective. Many lawmakers and Mr. Romney say they don't support such a recall.

• Also in the House is emergency legislation filed April 15 by Mr. Romney to allow himself and his counsel to ask the high court to delay its same-sex "marriage" ruling. However, last week the Senate did not admit the bill, and if it is not admitted by both chambers, it cannot receive a hearing.

Last week, Senate President Robert Travaglini said he wasn't interested in the governor's legislation.

"We've already discussed, as far as I'm concerned, all of the issues around the marriage question. We are now focused on the budget and that's where I'm going to keep my focus," he told business leaders, according to State House News Service.

• In the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, religious and conservative groups have filed a petition asking a single Supreme Court justice to stay the court's ruling until a November 2006 referendum vote on a constitutional amendment has been taken. The petition has not been acted on yet, said Chester Darling, a lawyer with Citizens for the Preservation of Constitutional Rights.