CA Lawmakers Rush to Remove Anti-Gay Proposition from State Constitution
California lawmakers are rushing to remove Proposition 8, an anti-gay policy banning same-gender marriage, from their state constitution.
With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, Americans nationwide are worried that this policy change will serve as only the first of few dominoes to fall in terms of essential right-providing laws being stripped from them. In California, LGBTQ lawmakers and allies alike are desperately trying to secure enough votes to finally strike Proposition 8 from their state constitution.
Passed and approved by voters in 2008, Prop. 8 effectively bans same-gender marriage in the entire state of California. This was eventually overturned in 2010 by a judge, who ruled Prop. 8 “violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution,” according to Equality California’s Samuel Garret Pate, via CBS8.
Equality California is one of the largest LGBTQ activist groups in the state. Back in 2013, the decision was challenged by Prop. 8 activists and once again shut down by the sitting governor, but there is a reason why activists and allies were unsatisfied then and nervous now.
Its remaining spot (albeit nullified) within the state constitution allows for a decision to still be up for debate if and when the legalization of same-gender marriage is overturned by the United States Supreme Court. Keeping Prop. 8 in the California Constitution would allow for the same conservative votership that appeared in 2013 to have a voice once again over the marriage rights of LGBTQ people. It is imperative that Californians get to the ballot boxes as soon as possible, these activists say.
Proposition 8 will remain in the constitution until it is formally voted out by Californian residents. Given the turmoil in regard to a potential federal overturning of Obergefell v. Hodges, the legalization of same-gender marriage, lawmakers are pushing for a ballot measure in order to officially have this removed from the California Constitution.
