SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - An ex-Utah Mormon and now prominent California gay lawyer is telling ABC 4 two things:
1) Prop 8 is headed back to the ballot.
2) The LDS Church will again play a significant role in trying to defeat it.
Kate Kendell heads the National Center for Lesbian Rights - the lead counsel in the Prop 8 battle.
In a phone interview from San Francisco, Kendell told ABC 4, "There is now a stain on the California Constitution in the form of Prop 8."
Kendell also tells ABC 4 a new measure to get rid of Prop 8 appears headed for 2010 California ballot.
"Make no mistake, we have to get rid of it. It is a very dangerous Amendment in our Constitution," said Kendell.
Kendell feels a California ballot measure is the only way to get rid of the same sex marriage ban, but she's wary of a new effort unveiled Wednesday, a federal lawsuit against Prop 8.
While Kendell feels the U.S. Supreme Court may someday resolve the gay marriage issue, she wonders if now is the best time.
"I do think a federal lawsuit at this point in time is risky and, perhaps, premature," said Kendell.
Kendell, who was raised LDS in Utah, also feels the Church will return to the Prop 8 battle.
"I would be very surprised if the LDS Church did not show up in a very significant way," said Kendell.
And even though a million new ballot signatures must now be collected by the end of 2009, Kendell says, "This is about justice and fairness and every civil rights struggle has had to go through these moments of setback and then you have to be really tested. Do you have the courage of your conviction?"
And when asked if it would get involved in another Prop 8 election, the LDS Church referred us back to its statement Tuesday.
The one re-affirming its belief in marriage between a man and a woman.
