Seeking the overturn of Proposition 8 - which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman - supporters of gay rights filed three lawsuits in the California Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed one suit; the counties of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara filed a joint lawsuit; and Civil rights attorney Gloria Allred filed one suit on behalf of lesbian clients married in Los Angeles.

After the gay rights' supporters lost the state ballot on same-sex marriage ban, this effort is an attempt to subvert the will of voters. Proposition 8 has been approved by 52% of 10.2 million votes counted; three million absentee ballots are uncounted or unreturned.

The "No to 8" campaign has refused to concede, even though spokeswoman Kate Kandell said the absentee count is "highly unlikely" to change the outcome of the polls.

Lawyers for same-sex couples argued that the anti-gay-marriage measure was an illegal constitutional revision - not a more limited amendment, as backers maintained - because it fundamentally altered the guarantee of equal protection. They opine that a constitutional revision, unlike an amendment, must be approved by the Legislature before going to voters.

However, Frank Schubert, co-chairman of the Proposition 8 campaign said: "If they want to legalize gay marriage, what they should do is bring an initiative themselves and ask the people to approve it. But they don't. They go behind the people's back to the courts and try and force an agenda on the rest of society."