Proposition 8: Banning Gay Marriage in California

Proposition 8:
Banning Gay Marriage in California

Gay marriage is one of the most controversial issues of our time. It’s splattered all over news shows, radio, and newspapers. Which politicians support legalizing same sex marriage? Who’s against it? Which celebrities are commenting about it this week? One of the most publicized events in the battle about same-sex marriage was Proposition 8. This was a California amendment passed November 4th of 2008, officially eliminating the right of marriage between anyone but a man and woman. Same-sex marriage was legal for 7 months in California. Even though the grandfather clause allowed the marriages issued within that time to stay valid, scores of future couples lost a rare opportunity to marry. (Ballotpedia) Proposition 8 affected the lives of gay people throughout California by depriving couples of legal rights unique to marriage, slowing gay rights progress, and setting a precedent of political inaction. Marriage is considered a celebration, a right of passage, and in most religions, a holy union. It’s the happy ending in fairy tales, the front page of gossip magazines, and the premise for many romantic comedies. The legal benefits, while less glamorous than a cinderella wedding, are an important part of marriage that are often overlooked. According to Lifetips, a gay marriage advocate site, married couples have rights like inheritance, and property rights. Property rights refer to owning houses together, and being able to pay joint mortgages. Another important right that marriage allows is-of-kin, or conservator rights. These rights allow someone to make important medical decisions if their spouse is gravely ill. (Idealaunch) Married couples are also able to gain health insurance from one person’s employer, receive social security, Medicare and obtain disability benefits from ones husband or wife. (Marriage Rights & Benefits) Arguably one of the most important marriage rights is the ability to file for adoption. A single person has the opportunity to file for adoption, but the chance of him or her getting a child is far less than someone who is married. This is especially important to same-sex couples because adoption may be critical if they wish to start a family. While some states like New Jersey and New York ban discrimination against potential adoption candidates for sexual orientation, there are states where this is not the case. Florida for example, allows homosexuals to participate in foster care, but hasn’t allowed gay adoption since the 1977 law that banned it. The federal judge in that case, James King, said “Plaintiffs have not asserted they can demonstrate that homosexual families are equivalently stable, are able to provide proper gender identification, or are no more socially stigmatizing than married heterosexual families.” (Gay Adoption) Certain adoption agencies refuse gay and lesbian singles, along with same-sex couples looking to adopt. Prop 8 supporters felt that the amendment would protect agencies like those from being persecuted for their moral beliefs. (Nancy Polikoff 89) The passing of Proposition 8 not only stripped homosexual couples crucial marriage rights, but further burdened the ability for those couples to start a family.

Before Proposition 8 was introduced, gay marriage was legal, because seven months before, Proposition 22 had been overturned. Proposition 22 was a statute enacted in 2000 where the California Family Code legally defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. (Claire Snyder 108) However, according to sources, proponents of Prop 8 felt that Prop 22 was not strong in protecting traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Proposition 22 was a statute, subject to judicial interpretation. (About Prop 8) An amendment however, would not be open to interpretation. That fear was proved to be legitimate when in 2004 the California Supreme Court struck down Prop 22 May 15th 2008 in a 4-3 vote. (Candace McCoy 46) Within the first month of gay marriage becoming legal, marriage license applications poured in. According to Professorshouse.com, San Francisco received 4,037 applications after Proposition 22 was overturned. 18,000 marriage ceremonies took place in the seven months before November 2008, when Proposition 8 was passed. 74% of those marriages took place with couples over 35 years old. 69% had a member holding a college degree and most were older and more educated than traditional straight newlyweds. (Statistics) Celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Ellen DeGeneres, Molly Ringwald, and P!nk openly supported equal rights for all couples. (California Proposition 8) A new era of tolerance was emerging. All that changed with the Prop 8 amendment in. Actor Colin Firth said “When Proposition 8 passed, I thought, ‘If that can happen now, if something so retrograde can occur in 2008,

maybe we haven’t made much progress at all. To me it was this triumphant day-when America made a very progressive change-and it had this bitter twist. I’m playing a man who is gay and being denied basic human rights in 1962, when a law is being passed to deny the same rights today’”. (Idealaunch) Firth’s feelings were echoed by many throughout the nation. California had been an example of how modernizing old views could be successful. This example, as it turned out, was never fully realized. Kate Kendell, the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights said of why marriage meant so much “It is more than symbolism to say that an entire category or recognition is off limits to one class of people, and the category that is off limits is the one that is most culturally desirable”. Along with being a blow to civil rights movements, Prop 8 was also the invitation proponents of traditional marriage needed again to come forward. Throughout the campaign for Prop 8, different viewpoints on why gay marriage should be banned began to appear. Robb and Robin Wirthlin are a Massachusetts couple who supported the amendment for their children. They were shocked when their 3rd grade son came home from his public school to tell his parents he read “The Prince and the Prince”. A book about gay marriage. “3rd grade is way too young to teach students about homosexuality...or to teach that gay marriage is equal to traditional marriage” Robb said in an interview with a reporter for the Yes on 8 website. (ProtectMarriage) The assumptions that legalizing same-sex marriage would destroy traditional family values was a particularly potent statement for some homosexuals, especially to those who

were parents. Approximately 1/3 of lesbian couples have children, 1/5 of gay couples have children and from the 2000 US census, there are 6-10 million kids with homosexual parents. (Idealaunch) Even with these numbers of gay and lesbian families, Proposition 8 instilled a sense of moral isolation between heterosexual and homosexual parents and families. Sheila Kuehl was the first legislator in California to be openly lesbian. She said “Gay and lesbian people fall in love. We settle down. We commit our lives to one another. We raise our children. We protect them. We try to be good citizens.” (Micheal Mello 214) On November 4th 2008 same-sex marriage was banned in California. Though there has been subsequent political action elsewhere in states like Iowa and Vermont, there has been a significant stall of momentum in California. The current governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, just recently reaffirmed his opposition to same-sex marriage, saying “I will uphold the decision of the California Supreme Court.” (Marriage Rights) There have also been three lawsuits since Proposition 8 passed. They all sought the invalidation of the amendment, siting that the revocation of the right to marriage was unconstitutional. On November 18th of 2008 the California Supreme Court made a statement saying that they would look into the lawsuits. By May 26th of 2009 the California Supreme Court spoke again, this time to announce that it would uphold Proposition 8. It had been upheld by a 6-1 vote. (Ballotpedia) Upholding the amendment has led to a stagnant political climate surrounding the gay marriage in California. Though

there is another appeal against the Proposition set for 2010, the movement has yet to pick up any true publicity and momentum. Not only is the state government content to stay inactive, but so are citizens. As of 2009, approximately 54% of the citizens oppose gay marriage, while only 33% support it. (Claire Snyder 15) These components all add up to an unsettling complacency with inadequate equal marriage rights in California. 70% of California’s residents showed up on November 4th of 2008 to cast their vote on an issue that would affected many aspects of the lives of gay citizens. (Statistics) Proposition 8 was one of the most powerful legal documents of 2008. The passing of the amendment added fuel to an already fiery debate over gay marriage, and put California into the line of fire. While it was controversial politically, it did more than change the political landscape of California. Prop 8 changed the lives of every gay citizen in California, and indirectly, around the nation. Equal marriage rights are at much greater risk for same-sex couples, and it has slowed the gay civil rights movement in the United States of America. Proposition 8 had many negative effects, but gay activists like popular talk show host Ellen DeGeneres have hope that someday Proposition 8 will be a mistake far in the countries past. “I believe one day a ‘ban on gay marriage’ will sound totally ridiculous. In the meantime, I will continue to speak out for equality for all of us”.