Prop. 8 Backers to Local, State Politicos: Butt Out and Get Back to Work!

Local and statewide proponents of Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban approved by voters last November, have a message for local and statewide politicians: stop trying to overturn the election results and get back to work fixing your cities and/or California.

State senators and Assembly members "are authoring meaningless nonbinding resolutions that take up the time of legislators and legislative staff who should be focused on appropriate legislative priorities such as solving the state deficit," claims ProtectMarriage.com--Yes on 8 Campaign.

"Proposition 8 was adopted with over a 600,000 vote margin, gaining approximately the same vote percentage as Barack Obama did nationally," said Ron Prentice, chairman of the group that takes credit for the measure's success, in a press statement. "It passed in 42 out of California's 58 counties, including the five largest counties in California. It is wrong for legislators to disrespect the vote of the people and attempt to substitute their values for the decision of over 7 million voters."

His group singled out HR 5 and SR 7, which state that Prop. 8 is an improper revision of the California Constitution. Authored by San Francisco Democrats Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and state Senator Mark Leno, the proposals disrespect the will of the voters and help explain why public approval of the Legislature has fallen to a historic low 15 percent, according to Prentice.

Meanwhile, the Orange County Register got the scoop on some Laguna Beach residents calling for a meeting outside the 5 p.m. March 3 City Council meeting to protest the council's support of the lawsuit challenging Prop. 8's constitutionality that the California Supreme Court is set to hear on March 5. Concerned Citizens for Laguna Beach accuses the city of abusing its power and failing to represent all residents by having voted Nov. 17 to join the suit along with San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara.

In the Reg piece, Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson argues that the city is representing the will of the people. Last July, Laguna Beach became the first city to officially oppose Prop. 8, and on Nov. 4 Lagunans voted 7,602 to 3,544 (or 68 percent to 31 percent) against the initiative.