Text of the Proposed Amendment:
The California Marriage Amendment, to be inserted as an exception to the state's equal protection clause (which would immediately precede it), reads as follows:Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.California voters will decide whether to approve the amendment on November 4, 2008.
Attorney General's Summary of the Proposed Amendment:
The amendment will be described on the ballot as follows:Prop 8 - Changes California Constitution to eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. Fiscal Impact: Over the next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact to state and local governments.
Impact of the Proposed Amendment:
The amendment would overturn a May 2008 California Supreme Court ruling which granted equal marriage rights to same-sex couples, annulling thousands of existing marriages. The language would also make it possible for a future conservative state court to overturn state domestic partnership ordinances on the basis that they are too similar to marriages, and therefore violate the California Marriage Amendment.Federal Constitutionality of the Proposed Amendment:
Because the amendment challenges the validity of marriages performed in other states, it would appear to contradict the "full faith and credit" clause within Article IV of the U.S. Constitution, which requires states to recognize marriages performed in other states. In practice, however, federal courts have avoided enforcing Article IV in cases of same-sex marriage.The amendment would also appear to contradict the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, but again, federal courts have declined to enforce this clause in cases pertaining to same-sex marriage.
How the Amendment Got on the Ballot:
Supporters of the amendment felt that Proposition 22 was too weak, as it (unlike a constitutional amendment) could be overturned by the California Supreme Court if it was found to overturn the state's equal protection clause. They needed 694,354 signatures in order to place a referendum on the ballot, and claim to have collected approximately 1.1 million.What Supporters Say:
Supporters of the amendment at ProtectMarriage.com, which includes photographs of (presumably married) heterosexual couples with children, cite the fact that California Proposition 22, written to ban same-sex marriage without revising the state constitution, passed with 61% in 2000 as part of their argument that the California Supreme Court's ruling was undemocratic.What Opponents Say:
The amendment unquestionably revises the California state constitution's equal protection clause, which is not something that should be done lightly. Opponents also argue that the amendment serves no practical purpose other than to marginalize, and express hostility towards, same-sex couples.Public Opinion:
Two California Field Polls, conducted on May 28 and July 17 respectively, found that the amendment was opposed by 51% of likely voters and supported by 42%, with 7% undecided. A smaller Los Angeles Times/KTLA-TV poll conducted on May 23 generated contrary results, with 54% of respondents supporting the amendment, 35% opposing it, and 11% undecided.Outcome:
On November 4, 2008, Proposition 8 passed with 52.5% of the vote. Opponents have mounted a legal challenge and will attempt to overturn Proposition 8, also by referendum, in 2010.My Original Prediction of the Outcome:
Written before the November 4, 2008 election:[blockquote]The amendment could very well pass, but my prediction is that it most likely will not.Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) has already spoken out in opposition to the referendum, as has Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. In Massachusetts in 2004, when a similar amendment was proposed (but never successfully brought to a referendum), Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry both supported it.
Clearly the climate has changed since the last major wave of anti-gay marriage amendments passed. The tide has been turning for some time, and I find it hard to imagine that California voters really want to be a conservative bulwark against legal rights for lesbian and gay couples.[/blockquote]I still find it hard to believe, but it happened.
