California Proposition 8: The California Marriage Protection Act
Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (California Marriage Protection Act) was a state-wide ballot proposition passed in the November 4, 2008 state election that made same sex marriage illegal in California. The vote which won by 52% adds exactly 14 words to the California State Constitution, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." To qualify for the ballot, Proposition 8 needed 694,354 valid petition signatures, equal to 8% of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2006 General Election. The initiative proponents submitted 1,120,801 signatures, and on June 2, 2008, the initiative qualified for the November 4, 2008 election ballot through the random sample signature check. The passage of Prop 8 was a major victory for religious conservatives seeking to ban gay marriage in other states, and a crippling setback for the gay rights movement nationwide. …show more content…
In 2000 the possibility of other states legalizing same sex marriage led to Prop 22 being passed, which restricted California from acknowledging the marriages of same sex couples from other states. The California Supreme Court overturned Prop 22 in May of 2008, and the court also mandated marriage licenses to be issued by judicial degree, and not by the will of the voters or the legislature. These licenses were not recognized by the federal government and most of the nation, but for that brief period in California same sex marriage was legal. The same sex couples that were married during that time are still considered married in California under the grandfather
California Proposition 8 (California Marriage Protection Act) was a state-wide ballot proposition passed in the November 4, 2008 state election that made same sex marriage illegal in California. The vote which won by 52% adds exactly 14 words to the California State Constitution, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." To qualify for the ballot, Proposition 8 needed 694,354 valid petition signatures, equal to 8% of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2006 General Election. The initiative proponents submitted 1,120,801 signatures, and on June 2, 2008, the initiative qualified for the November 4, 2008 election ballot through the random sample signature check. The passage of Prop 8 was a major victory for religious conservatives seeking to ban gay marriage in other states, and a crippling setback for the gay rights movement nationwide. …show more content…
In 2000 the possibility of other states legalizing same sex marriage led to Prop 22 being passed, which restricted California from acknowledging the marriages of same sex couples from other states. The California Supreme Court overturned Prop 22 in May of 2008, and the court also mandated marriage licenses to be issued by judicial degree, and not by the will of the voters or the legislature. These licenses were not recognized by the federal government and most of the nation, but for that brief period in California same sex marriage was legal. The same sex couples that were married during that time are still considered married in California under the grandfather