Gay Marriage Ban Qualifies For CA Ballot

Not really big news as the haters had twice the necessary signatures:

An initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in California has qualified for the November ballot, the Secretary of State announced Monday. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough names for it to be put to voters.

The measure, known as the California Marriage Protection Act, would amend the state constitution to "provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." If approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4, the amendment would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. It is similar to gay marriage bans that have been adopted in 26 other states.

"This signifies the fact that California voters really do favor and will come out to vote for the protection of historic marriage," said Ron Prentice, executive director of ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition of religious and social conservative groups behind the initiative.

In response to the Supreme Court's May 15 ruling, California public health officials already have amended marriage license applications to read "Party A" and "Party B" instead of bride and groom. Local officials have been told to start issuing the revised licenses to same-sex couples on June 17.

With last week's Field Poll showing that a slim majority of Californians do support gay marriage, the next five months will undoubtedly prove nerve-wracking. And what will this wedge issue of all wedge issues mean in the general election?