Deconstructing Proposition 8

“Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.”

- Ronald Reagan

Proposition 8: An Explanation

1. In 2000, Californians voted in favor of legislation limiting marriage to one man and one woman.
2. In May of this year, 2008, California judges ruled the legislation of eight years ago “unconstitutional” and overturned the decision, making marriage possible for all California citizens equally.
3. This Fall, after the right to marry had finally become an equal right for all desiring of it,  the issue was again brought before voters in the form of a ballot proposition (Prop 8) to overturn the judges’ ruling.

The Fear

Supporters of the proposition claim that they are trying to protect the sanctity of marriage or protect their children from being forced to learn about gay marriage in schools. Some of these same supporters do not believe in teaching safe sex in schools or practicing any form of birth control.

“To unequal privileges among members of the same society the spirit of our nation is, with one accord, adverse.”

- Thomas Jefferson

The Fight For Equality

Many recognize one of the core functions of our constitution as being an umbrella from the tyranny of the majority, and the Supreme Court’s judges’ role as the holders of this umbrella.

In an attempt to preemptively combat inequality, The American Civil Liberties Union, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a petition with the California Supreme Court requesting that the court invalidate Proposition 8 if it were to pass.

“There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.”
- George Sand

The Mormon Church's Involvement

Mormons contributed an estimated $8.4 million toward the campaign to vote “Yes” on Proposition 8, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints leaders even broadcast their message via satellite to congregations in four states, angling for support and claiming to do the “work of the Lord”.

This direct involvement caused the Church to be a primary target of protest amongst equal rights supporters, with public gatherings to express their outrage organized across the country.

But certainly not all Mormons can be counted among those in support of Prop 8. Mormon mothers of gay children staged a candlelight vigil in Salt Lake City to oppose the ban. The event was co-hosted by Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Equality Utah, the Utah Pride Center, the Inclusion Center, Affirmation and the Human Rights Campaign.

“We have talked long enough in this country about equal rights. It is time now to write the next chapter – and to write it in the book of law”

- Lyndon B. Johnson