LOS ANGELES (AP) — Opponents of laws extending marriage rights to same-sex couples have filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gray Davis and other state officials opposing their implementation.

Campaign for California Families filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that AB 25 and the Domestic Partner Act, which grant rights to registered domestic partners, violate a state-approved proposition. Voters in 2000 approved Proposition 22, which confirmed that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in the state of California.”

A similar lawsuit was filed earlier in Sacramento.

“Gray Davis and Cruz Bustamante have conspired to bring homosexual ‘marriage’ to California, disobeying the clear orders of the people,” said Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California Families. “They have trashed the vote of the people and perverted the sacred institution of marriage.”

Davis in October 2001 signed AB 25, which granted 15 specific rights to registered domestic partners. The measure became law in January 2002.

Last week, the governor signed the Domestic Partner Act, which expands the right of gay couples in areas ranging from health coverage to property ownership and funeral arrangements. It becomes effective Jan. 1, 2005.

The lawsuit seeks the nullification of AB 25 and an injunction to prevent the Domestic Partner Act from being implemented.

The case is similar to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento by state Sen. Pete Knight, R-Palmdale, to stop implementation of the Domestic Partner Act. Knight in his lawsuit also cited Prop. 22 and said the newly enacted bill violates the state constitution. It named Davis, Secretary of State Kevin Shelly and two other state agencies as defendants.

Proposition 22 was approved by 61 percent of voters. A recent Field Poll found 72 percent of surveyed California voters supported expanded rights for same-sex couples.