Making the news rounds today is a brief coming out of San Francisco, California, where the Supreme Court of California announced they will hear the case of those against Proposition 8 and its prohibition of same-sex marriages. The court did state that, in accordance with the passage of the proposition, until any decision is made in the opposition of Prop 8, the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses will be suspended.
This echoes the Governors words for opponents of the proposition to fight on. What this proposition has done is take away a civil right, signaling a huge setback to the advancements that had been made earlier in the year by a 4-3 vote of the California Supreme Court.
If past history carries any prevalence, we must not trust these civil rights issues in the hands of voters. Proposition 8 is just a present-day example. Think about if we had put the issue of slavery to a vote a couple hundred years ago. As the majority of wealthy, voting Americans owned and used slaves for labor and services, a vote to abolish slavery would have had trouble even making it on a ballot, let alone passing.
As Apple Inc. said in a public statement regarding Proposition 8:
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.
This is just that, a civil rights issue, not just a political issue, and it is truly saddening that personal religious beliefs have been successful in pushing Prop 8 to the California Constitution. Hopefully, the California Supreme Court Justices, will uphold the civil rights it past earlier this year and squash this proposition once and for all.
Two possibilities exist as to avenues of killing this proposition. One argument could be made that Proposition 8 is more than a simple addendum to the California Constitution, but a full amendment, in which case, the proposition would need a majority two-thirds vote to pass. Pop 8 won by a margin of roughly 52% Yes, and 48% No – not a clear majority and not by any means a two-thirds majority.
The second possibility is that, upon hearing the case of opponents to Proposition 8, the Supreme Court justices find Prop 8 itself to be unconstitutional and find in favor of granting the civil rights of same-sex marriage couples.
Either possibility will gladly be taken, but the latter will be preferred. It will set precedent for future law in the State of California and abroad. It will put to rest any question the stance of the State of California on this matter and grant the civil rights that should be had of same-sex couples.
Photo Credit: ABC News and Boston
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