The deal in California is basically this:1. A year or so ago, the State Supreme Court ruled that California's ban on same-sex marriage was a violation of the California State Constitution (not necessarily the U.S. Constitution).
2. So, some 18,000 same-sex couples were married in the Golden State until a proposition was put on the ballot in November (Proposition 8) that amended the CA State Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. And same-sex marriage became illegal in California once again.
3. This week however, proponents of gay marriage are before the Californai State Supreme Court again, this time asking the court to strike down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.
Confused yet? Before you try to make up your mind, check out the information in the article below from the Christian Science Monitor. There are a lot of issues and arguments on both sides of the issue you may need to consider before being informed enough to understand this legal issue.
(I say "legal issue" as opposed to "moral issue", because whether or not your morals push you in one direction or another on this issue, you have to remember that we are a nation of laws, and the rule of law must be respected - even if the law is confusing and it is easy to let emotion get in the way on controversial issues. The complex system of checks and balances that exists within California State government must be kept in mind here. So, in my case, I think two adults that love each other and want to make a lifetime commitment to each other should be able to do so regardless of their sexual orientation. However, that needs to be done within the rule of law, in accordance with the California State Constitution.)
Same-sex marriage before California Supreme Court csmonitor.com
This news story from a California T.V. station also does a nice job of outlining the key issues involved in this legal battle:
1 comment:
Mr Coraggio,
First of all, I think it is ridiculous that they took Proposition 8 away from people in the first place. Obviously, when same-sex marraige was allowed no one in the state of California had been effected in a bad way or hurt by it, so what is the big deal? My dad lives in California and i visit there a lot and as far as i am concerned, same-sex marraige has never effected his life, the life of his girflriend or the lives of any of his friends and straight co-workers. The only people it truly does effect are the gay people, and to them it is only in a good way. But i know that this has solely to do with the law and that is what the gay people have to fight for, rather than their emotional needs. So i think that since everyone has human rights and America is "the land of the free" everyone should have the right to marry who they would like to. I mean we all have the freedom to express ourselves verbally (freedom of speech) so why can't we ALL express our sexual orientation without feeling discriminated against? I just think that some people are blowing Proposition 8 up into something way bigger than they should make it. If people want to spend their lives together, its their decision. Not ours.
-S.D. per. 3
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