Court Clears Way for Ohio Vote on Gay Marriages

The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the last pending legal challenge to placing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and the recognition of such same-sex couples on the Nov. 2 ballot.

The court ruled 6 to 1 on technical grounds, saying it did not have jurisdiction over the claim, that opponents did not make their claim far enough ahead of the election and that a lower court had already ruled on the same issues.

“This thing is definitely going to go forward,” said David Langdon, an attorney representing Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, which gathered the signatures to place the issue on the ballot.

Opponents had argued that the initiative was invalid because it lacked the required summary and certification from the Ohio attorney general, but they said they weren’t surprised by Thursday’s ruling.

Last month, an appeals court also rejected opponents’ attempt to stop the amendment.

“After the Court of Appeals’ decision, from the campaign’s perspective we made the decision to move forward to defeat the issue” at the polls, said Alan Melamed, spokesman for Ohioans Protecting the Constitution.

The group plans to start airing TV commercials Monday. Backers of the issue launched a statewide radio ad campaign earlier this week.

The amendment bans gay marriage and prevents local or state government from recognizing same-sex couples in any fashion.