Measure to bar gay marriage qualifies for California ballot

Setting the stage for a political showdown on gay marriage, the California secretary of state today said an initiative barring gay marriage had enough signatures to qualify for the Nov. 4 ballot.

The proposal would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as a union “between a man and a woman.”

A coalition of religious and conservative activists submitted 1.1 million signatures for the ballot measure. Random sampling by Secretary of State Debra Bowen found that enough legitimate signatures had been collected.

Last month, the California Supreme Court ruled that state prohibitions against same-sex marriages were unconstitutional, and officials said such marriage ceremonies could begin later this month.

Many opponents of same-sex marriage saw the high court’s ruling as a rejection of past ballot measures against same-sex marriage, most recently Proposition 22, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. It passed in 2000 with 61% of the vote.

 jack.leonard@latimes.com