Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court challenging the prejudicial title and summary issued by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. A hearing on the suit will soon be set. The Attorney General has a statutory duty to prepare a title and summary that is accurate, reflects the chief purpose and points, and is not prejudicial for or against the proposed amendment. He failed to carry out his responsibility in preparing this title and summary.

Proponents of the initiative, at the request of the Attorney General's office, suggested a title and summary that explained the chief purpose as the protection of marriage rights. It identified the chief points as specifying that only marriage between one man and one woman is valid or recognized in California, that government cannot abolish marriage or diminish it by bestowing the statutory rights of marriage upon unmarried persons, and that government cannot require private entities to bestow rights or incidents of marriage upon unmarried persons.

The Attorney General, however, chose to prepare a title and summary that focused almost entirely on identifying "rights" that are allegedly taken away from domestic partners. In fact, the Attorney General used 43 of his 100 word limit for that purpose. That list, however, is facially inaccurate. For example, the summary states it will void and restrict
• ownership and transfer of property rights, even though all people will continue to be able to own property jointly, as business partners or tenants in common,
• inheritance rights even though all people will continue to be able to devise property,
• medical decision rights, even though all people will continue to be able to execute a power of attorney for health care decisions.
• hospital visitation rights even though California law is clear that hospital visitation is not a statutory marital right and therefore will not be affected.

The Attorney General also failed to mention two of the three chief points – that no government official or entity can bestow the statutory rights of marriage on unmarried persons, and that no private entity can be required by the government to bestow rights or benefits of marriage on unmarried persons.

Mathew Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated, "The Attorney General has failed to carry out his duty to prepare a neutral, factual title and summary. He is impeding a fair vote on this important issue because he knows that Californians already have once voted to protect marriage as one man and one woman and will do so again if given the opportunity. The prejudicial title and summary must be amended to give the people their right to vote to protect marriage rights."