Battles continue in efforts to get state constitutions amended to include bans against same-sex marriages. In Louisiana, courts supported the removal of that state’s marriage amendment from the Sept. 18 primary ballot because amendments are required to be confined to a “single subject” and must be on statewide ballots. One judge ruled that a primary day “is not a statewide election day,” and therefore the amendment is not eligible. A separate challenge to the amendment, in another court, was successful also:

Louisiana’s proposed amendment says: “Marriage in the state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman; that the legal incidents of marriage shall be conferred only upon such unions; prohibits the validation or recognition of the legal status of any union of unmarried individuals; prohibits the recognition of a marriage contracted in another jurisdiction, which is not the union of one man and one woman.”

This means the amendment prohibits civil unions and therefore has “dual objects,” the judge wrote.

In Michigan, despite getting far more signatures than needed to get an amendment before voters, “election officials deadlocked along party lines on a vote to certify the proposal for the November ballot.” Why?

Four officials of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers met to certify ballot measures, including the amendment promoted by the Citizens for the Protection of Marriage that says: “To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”

Doyle O’Connor, a Democratic member of the canvassers board, said yesterday he was concerned that the amendment’s wording would prevent employers from providing benefits to same-sex partners. He voted against certifying the amendment, as did Dorothy Jones, the board’s chairwoman and other Democratic member.

How do teams win fair-and-square when the referees are skewed towards your opponent?