California Proposition 8

{{homophobia}}{{mormonism}}
'''California Proposition 8''', aptly known as "'''Proposition Hate'''," 
is
 was a proposed [[state]] [[constitution]]al amendment passed by the voters of [[California]] on November 4, 2008, defining [[marriage]] as [[Homophobia|between a man and a woman]]. It was part of a wave of such state constitutional amendments across the U.S. during the 2000s, all of which were eventually nullified.<ref>{{wpa| U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions |}}</ref> The passage of Proposition 8  (by 52 to 48%<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_California_Proposition_8 2008 California Proposition 8] ''Ballotpedia''.</ref>) effectively ended [[same-sex marriage]] in California for the time being, which had been [[legal]] since the state Supreme Court struck down California's statutory ban on same-sex marriage on May 15, 2008.

==Mormon involvement==
The [[Mormon]] church was heavily involved in funding and promoting the "Yes on 8" campaign.<ref>[http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-10-27/bay-area/17137948_1_mormons-salt-lake-city-based-church-ballot-measure Mormons face flak for backing Prop. 8], ''SF Gate''</ref> As a result, there have been several calls for the revocation of the Mormon Church's [[tax-exempt]] status, though the involvement of [[religious]] groups on both sides of the initiative was prominent.

At least one of the "Vote Yes on Proposition 8" TV [[advertising|ads]] they backed used an odd scare tactic: "If same-sex marriage is legal, our kids will have to learn about same-sex marriage in school!"<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-jc4ujp9Ok This 2008 ad, now hosted on YouTube], at 1:07 in.</ref> The horror!

==Development==
On May 26, 2009, it was announced that the California Supreme Court upheld the proposition, but, at the same time, still recognized the 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California prior to the ban.<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=7677819&page=1 California Upholds Gay Marriage Ban], ABC News</ref>

On August 4, 2010, a Federal District Court overturned the amendment in the case of ''[[Perry v. Schwarzenegger]]''.

On February 7, 2012, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit upheld the District Court's decision on appeal by a 2-1 vote.<ref>[http://howappealing.law.com/Proposition8-cta9ruling-020712.pdf Full Court of Appeals ruling]</ref> 

On December 7, 2012, the [[United States Supreme Court]] granted certiorari to hear the case and heard oral arguments on March 26, 2013. The justices appeared to focus largely on the question of whether or not the groups which sponsored Prop 8 have standing to defend the law when the state has refused to do so.<ref>[http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/03/supreme-court-prop-8-arguments.php Justices Flirt With Throwing Out Prop 8 Gay Marriage Case], TPM</ref> 
A decision is expected in June 2013
 Apparently some gay couple getting married in the state does not constitute enough of "an injury that affects him in a 'personal and individual way'" for the petitioners to have standing. As such, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3suGfhnT2Sg the lower court ruling is upheld.]<ref>[http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-144_8ok0.pdf Full SCOTUS ruling]</ref>

==Effects of ruling==
With the upholding the ruling of the lower courts, Proposition 8 is effectively dead, allowing gay marriage to resume in California. Right on cue, many, mainly [[Republican]]s, angered at the ruling and gutting of the [[Defense of Marriage Act]] by the Supreme Court, resulted in anger at the state refusing to continue imposing their will on others as well as having the audacity to overrule [[Mobocracy|mob rule]] that sought to take away people's rights.

A notable example occurred almost immediately after the rulings when a group of Republican politicians, including 
the Wicked Witch of Minnesota
 [[Minnesota]] representative [[Michele Bachmann]], held a press conference to reply to the court's ruling. As expected, they [[Bible thumper|thumped the Bible]] as justification for their homophobia and showed their usual dislike of how functional representative [[republic]]s are supposed to operate in guaranteeing [[human rights]]. Not many people bothered to show up in person, especially the [[media]] as not many reporters showed up to cover the conference; that's very likely because a group of people with opposing [[sexual orientation]]s rightfully gaining back their natural rights was an apparently bigger story to report on.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBODvxF37Sg Here's the full press conference if you're in the mood for a migraine.]</ref>

The ''Perry v. Schwarzenegger'' decision resulted in many state restrictions on same-sex marriage being challenged in every U.S. state.  Despite its previous history of legislative defeat, same-sex marriage was consistently upheld as a fundamental right based on the logic of the ''Perry'' decision and the ''{{wpl|United States v. Windsor}}'' (another court case which overturned components of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act).

As to be expected, such conflicts from Prop 8's death and the fights stemming for it resulted in gay marriage coming right back to the Supreme Court in the case of ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]''. In a 5-4 ruling, on June 26, 2015, the majority ruling held it was unconstitutional to deny gay couples the right to be married, officially ending the saga of Prop 8 on a happy note.

Further and even more bloody hair ripping, foot stamping, and bible thumping by gay marriage opponents followed.

==In 2024==
With the nullification of the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing [[abortion]] (''[[Roe v. Wade]]'') with the 2022 ''[[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]]'' decision by a [[far-right]]-dominated Supreme Court, many state [[anti-abortion]] statutes became enforceable again.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/18/human-rights-crisis-abortion-united-states-after-dobbs Human Rights Crisis: Abortion in the United States After Dobbs] (April 18, 2023 12:01AM EDT) ''Human Rights Watch''.</ref> After the Court showed its blatant disregard for ''[[stare decisis]]'' with this ruling, [[Pro-choice|abortion rights]] supporters became concerned that Proposition 8 could become enforceable again if the Supreme Court decided to annul ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', as Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] had indicated his desire to do so.<ref>[https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256 Justice Thomas: SCOTUS ‘should reconsider’ contraception, same-sex marriage rulings] by Quint Forgey & Josh Gerstein (06/24/2022) ''Politico''.</ref> In 2024 California Proposition 3 legalizing marriage equality won passage, thus nullifying 2008's Proposition 8.<ref>[https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2024/election-results/california California Election Results and Live Maps - Nov. 2024] ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hyT7_Bx9o Proposition 8: The Musical]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Culture wars]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Mormonism]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]

Categories: California, Culture wars, Elections, Mormonism, Homophobia