The Fallout from Prop 8
by Aaron Elias
Volume 42, Issue 11 | Dec 01 2008
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=the_fallout_from_prop172With the passage of Proposition 8 on Nov. 4, the California constitution now defines marriage as "between a man and a woman," excluding and thereby banning same-sex marriages. The proposition's victory of 52 percent sparked protests statewide as well as nationwide. Now it seems that protesters have moved off the streets and into the courthouses.
On Nov. 19, the California Supreme Court agreed to listen to lawsuits charging that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Six of the seven justices agreed to hear the cases and required the parties involved to answer several questions pertaining to the proposition.
Whether Proposition 8 qualifies as a revision or an amendment to the California constitution, whether it violates the constitution's separation-of-powers doctrine by confining judges' authority to protect gay couples, and if constitutional, whether it may nullify the some 18,000 gay marriages that occurred in California between June 16 and Nov. 4, are all questions facing the court.
