Why prop 8 is unconstitutional

Follow Ballotpedia. Click here to follow election results! California Proposition 8 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in California on November 4, It was approved. A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, thus reversing a state judicial ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in California. A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment to define marriage as between one man and one woman, thus maintaining a state judicial ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in California.

Proposition 8 added language to the California Constitution that defined marriage as between one man and one woman. As the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in California on May 15, , Proposition 8 had the effect of reversing the court's ruling and banning same-sex marriage.

In , the California Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8 "carved out a limited [or 'narrow'] exception to the state equal protection clause" and prohibited same-sex marriage under the California Constitution.

Proposition 8 was upheld under state constitutional law but not federal constitutional law. On August 4, , U. Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court's ruling to overturn Proposition 8 on February 7, The U. Supreme Court denied an appeal on June 26, , and the Ninth Circuit permitted same-sex marriages beginning on June 28, On May 26, , the California Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8 was constitutional but that same-sex marriages performed before the constitutional amendment went into effect were valid.

Supreme Court dismissed the case on the grounds that the defendants, who were the campaign's sponsors, did not have legal standing. The full text of this measure is available here.

The fiscal impact statement was as follows: [9]. The ballot measure added the following underlined language to Article I of the California Constitution : [9].

Protect Marriage , also known as Yes on 8 , led the campaign in support of Proposition 8. The following supporting arguments were presented in the official voter guide: [9].

Proposition 8 is simple and straightforward. There are NO exceptions. It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and human history has understood marriage to be. It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people. Proposition 8 protects marriage as an essential institution of society.

While death, divorce, or other circumstances may prevent the ideal, the best situation for a child is to be raised by a married mother and father. We should not accept a court decision that may result in public schools teaching our kids that gay marriage is okay.

That is an issue for parents to discuss with their children according to their own values and beliefs. Some will try to tell you that Proposition 8 takes away legal rights of gay domestic partnerships. That is false. Skip to main content. Seattle University Law Review. Authors Nathan Rouse. Abstract In Perry v. Select an issue: All Issues Vol. Digital Commons. Gore case who joined forced to try to defeat Proposition 8. Bush, respectively. It is considered one of the most liberal court in the country.

Smith, expectedly, was the dissenting vote on constitutionality. The judges heard oral arguments on the constitutionality question more than a year ago. They heard arguments on the recusal in December. California voters agreed to Prop 8 — also known as the California Marriage Protection Act — in November by a 52 to 47 percent margin about 13 million voters took part.