JUDGE HALTS LOUISIANA AMENDMENT VOTE: From the New Orleans Times-Picayune

A New Orleans judge halted a planned Sept. 18 vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in Louisiana, but temporarily suspended enforcement of his order to let the state file an appeal with the state Supreme Court.

Civil District Judge Chris Bruno ruled Friday that the amendment would be kept off the Sept. 18 primary ballot because elections are not being held in all parishes.

Bruno's judgment came just days before Monday's deadline for Secretary of State Fox McKeithen to approve the ballots for printing. McKeithen's spokesman said Friday the state will print the proposed amendment on the ballots, but can cancel the vote on the amendment depending on the outcome of the appeal.

Bruno's ruling was a clear victory, however slight, for opponents of the proposed amendment who had taken the state to court on the grounds that the state Legislature illegally voted to put the amendment on the ballot. In addition, they argued that the amendment would strip gay men and lesbians of rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

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