San Diego County Clerk withdraws challenge to Prop 8 repeal

San Diego County Clerk Ernest Dronenburg on Friday withdrew his petition asking the California Supreme Court to halt same-sex marriages and consider whether the Supreme Court's Prop 8 ruling applies only to the plaintiffs involved in the case.


From the Union Tribune:

In a news release sent out Friday afternoon, Dronenburg said he canceled the petition because it covered the same ground as another petition filed earlier to the court.

The first petition was filed July 12 by Dennis Hollingsworth and others. Hollingsworth, a former state senator, has worked with ProtectMarriage.com in support of Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

Dronenburg said he was withdrawing his petition, which he filed July 19, to speed up the legal process that he hopes will clarify the current legal standing of Prop. 8.

Dronenburg has said he wanted county clerks to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples because it would be “cruel” if such people tied the knot and then later learned that their marriages were invalid. However, it would seem strange that a man so concerned for the "well-being" of gays and lesbians would hire attorney Charles LiMandri, a vocal supporter of Prop. 8 and head of the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund in Rancho Santa Fe.

Coincidence? I think not.