Litigation Options
Reporters are asking if AtMP will file an amicus brief with the CA supreme court – the short answer is ‘no.’ The reason is that we don’t have lawyers on staff nor money to hire legal consultants. But if we did, we would seriously consider the suggestions of AtMP member Joe D. He says CA could fulfill its constitutional requirement for Equal Protection by merging marriage and civil union and calling them “civil union.”
Our colleagues at the Nonprofit & Foundation Advocacy Blog have important advice about how nonprofits can litigate to change public policy.
According to the Alliance for Justice:
“Now is the time to remind nonprofits, some of which have already engaged in the efforts to defeat Prop 8 on the ballot, of how they can be crucial voices in another form of advocacy. 501(c)(3) organizations may engage in a limited amount of lobbying, including support or opposition to ballot measures. However, involvement in litigation does not count as lobbying, even if the lawsuit is challenging a ballot measure. Therefore, there are no limits on the amount of advocacy that a 501(c)(3) can do through litigation. In addition to filing suit to challenge the legality of a ballot measure, 501(c)(3) organizations can also get involved in other ways to support the legal advocacy groups that are challenging Prop 8 in court. Nonprofits may educate the public or issue a press release about why Prop 8 should be invalidated. They may also sign on to a friend of a court brief in a lawsuit challenging Prop 8 or make a non-lobbying grant to an organization heading up the litigation efforts.”
