ONE LAWSUIT TO BLOCK LA. AMENDMENT VOTE FAILS: From the New Orleans Times-Picayune

One of two lawsuits filed by a political action committee seeking to block the Sept. 18 vote on a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages and civil unions in Louisiana was dismissed Tuesday, leaving groups that oppose the measure scrambling to plot their next move.

A hearing on the second lawsuit is scheduled for Friday at noon before Judge Chris Bruno.

In both suits, filed Friday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court, the Forum for Equality Political Action Committee, along with three individuals, are suing Secretary of State Fox McKeithen, whose office prepared the ballots for the statewide vote, and the city of New Orleans. They argue that the proposition is unconstitutional and say it was illegally passed by the Legislature this spring. Moreover, the PAC claims that such an amendment would be discriminatory by impairing contracts between gay and lesbian partners.

Judge Nadine Ramsey quickly dismissed the first suit Tuesday morning on procedural grounds, saying it should have been filed in Baton Rouge because it addresses the Louisiana Election Code.

After the hearing Tuesday, the PAC attorneys, led by John Rawls, were deciding whether to file a new lawsuit in Baton Rouge or appeal to the state 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. If they decide to appeal, the lawyers would be bound to the relatively speedy timetable that governs challenges to elections -- giving them just 24 hours to file, Rawls said.

Lawyers from Attorney General Charles Foti’s office, which litigated the case for McKeithen, said the proposal should remain on the ballot.

"People should be allowed to vote on it. That’s our position and it will continue to be our position," Assistant Attorney General Roy Mongrue said after the hearing. "The taxpayers are the ones that will be making the call on this. You vote up or down and that’s the core of our government. The people control the process, not some individuals who oppose it."

But Rawls disagreed, saying he still holds out hope that the court will issue an injunction preventing McKeithen from placing the proposal on the September ballot.

"We respectfully disagree," Rawls said. "We think that every citizen has the right to keep an illegal amendment off the ballot and we don’t think we have to go to Baton Rouge to do that."

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