Gay Marriage Foes Fall Apart

A constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage will not be placed on the June 2006 California ballot after the group working to put that issue on the ballot failed to meet Tuesday's signature-gathering deadline.
ProtectMarriage.com needed 598,104 signatures to qualify the measure. But organizers fell about 200,000 signatures short of that, said Andrew Pugno, legal adviser to the organization. Pugno blamed the missed deadline on the distraction of November's special election, a lack of donations because of hurricanes and confusion created by a competing measure.
The group will not attempt to meet a mid-April deadline to place the measure on the November 2006 ballot either, Pugno said, and expects the issue to come back in 2008. The competing measure, sponsored by a group called VoteYesMarriage.com, has yet to be circulated for signatures.