Montana group wants gay-marriage ban put to voteBy ALLISON FARRELL
Gazette State Bureau
HELENA - The Montana Family Foundation, a new nonprofit organization with ties to the national group Focus on the Family, is seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November to ban gay marriages in Montana.
The group's president, Rep. Jeff Laszloffy, R-Laurel, said Montana's Defense of Marriage Act - a l997 law limiting marriages to unions between one man and one woman - may not be strong enough to hold up in court.
"As a legislator, I've been appalled by the amount of legislating from the bench the court has been doing," said Laszloffy. "I think the problem stems from the fact that there is no clear direction for the courts to take."
Gay-rights advocates say they're not surprised that Montana conservatives are launching this constitutional initiative.
"We have been anticipating this," said Karl Olson, executive director of PRIDE, a gay-rights organization based in Helena. "We certainly aren't alarmed, but we're ready to challenge it."
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