California still has an anti-gay marriage law on the books. Voters uld remove next year. - The San Diego Unn-Tribune

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE
• IS GAY MARRIAGE LEGAL CALIFORNIA?
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR
• PROP 8 LG EXPLAED: WHY GAY MARRIAGE WILL RUME CALIFORNIA
• HISTORY OF GAY MARRIAGE
• WILL CALIFORNIA PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE S NSTUTN?
• CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR.
• GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS COULD REMOVE IT NEXT YEAR

GAY MARRIAGE

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. ” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups. In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners.

C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch. That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S. Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v.

IS GAY MARRIAGE LEGAL CALIFORNIA?

Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire. Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007.

For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal. Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000. Wh over 13 ln vot st, California voters approve Proposn 8 on November 4, 2008, amendg the state’s nstutn to ban same-sex months earlier, May 2008, the California Supreme Court had emed the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unnstutnal, makg California the send state the untry to legalize gay marriage.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR

Californian voters received robolls om former print Bill Clton askg them to vote no on the measure, while actors om the televisn show “Ugly Betty” argued Spanish-language TV spots that votg no “is not about beg gay or straight, ” but “about beg Amerin.

”The Protect Marriage mpaign supportg Proposn 8 nstantly voked the “far-reachg nsequenc” of legal gay marriage, particularly the implitn that school curriculums would be required to teach that gay marriage is “the same as tradnal marriage. ” Pollster David Fleischer, his analysis of the electn rults, found that the greatt shift toward “Y” among uncid voters was “among parents wh children unr 18 livg at home—many of them whe Democrats, ” who feared the effects of legal gay marriage on their children’s public tn.

PROP 8 LG EXPLAED: WHY GAY MARRIAGE WILL RUME CALIFORNIA

In holdg that Prop 8 nnot stand bee vlat the equal protectn and due procs rights of California’s lbian and gay upl, this cisn adds to the growg nsens urts and legislatur across the untry that there are no good reasons for excludg same-sex upl om marriage. By one vote, the urt l that same-sex marriage nnot be banned the Uned Stat and that all same-sex marriag mt be regnized natnwi, fally grantg same-sex upl equal rights to heterosexual upl unr the 1971, jt two years after the Stonewall Rts that unofficially marked the begng of the stggle for gay rights and marriage equaly, the Mnota Supreme Court had found same-sex marriage bans nstutnal, a precent which the Supreme Court had never challenged.

As homosexualy gradually beme more accepted Amerin culture, the nservative backlash was strong enough to force Print Bill Clton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibg the regnn of same-sex marriag at the feral level, to law 1996.

HISTORY OF GAY MARRIAGE

SACRAMENTO — More than 18 years after Gav Newsom fied feral law by issug marriage licens to same-sex upl as San Francis mayor, Print Bin is on the cp of signg legislatn that ensur gay marriag are regnized by the feral ernment and every state the natn. “As much as this is a very important issue to gay and lbian people who are marriag or look forward to beg marriag, ” Michelson said, “I doubt that is the issue that is gog to be at the top of people’s mds when to future printial rac. We're here to help wh life's everyday qutnsSame-sex upl and adoptnIn 2003, Massachetts beme the first state to allow same-sex upl to adopt children, acrdg to the Boston Globe — but the journey to natnal adoptn equaly was far om 2016, a Feral District Court void a law Mississippi which prevented gay upl om adoptg children, acrdg to the Washgton Post.

WILL CALIFORNIA PROTECT GAY MARRIAGE S NSTUTN?

The Supreme Court lg on a California law known as Proposn 8 me down to a legal technily but has huge practil effect — rtorg gay marriage the natn’s most populo urt led that proponents of Proposn 8, a ban on gay marriage passed by California voters 2008, did not have the legal right to fend the law the feral Jtice John Roberts, wrg for the urt, said that the proponents — the people who put Proposn 8 on the ballot — had no “personal stake” fendg , at least no more than other ordary cizens of California. Although a gay marriage was never performed Hawaii, the issue gaed natnal attentn and prompted over 40 stat over the next to pass Defense of Marriage Acts (DOMAs) that fed marriage as a legal unn between one man and one woman.

11, 2010, CNN released the rults of the first natnal poll to show a majory support for gay marriage, wh 52% agreeg that “gays and lbians should have a nstutnal right to get married and have their marriage regnized by law as valid. On May 9, 2012, Print Obama beme the first stg US print to clare his support for gay marriage, statg: “At a certa pot, I’ve jt nclud that for me personally is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I thk same-sex upl should be able to get married. Six other stat which gay marriage bans had been overturned, Colorado, Kansas, North Carola, South Carola, Wt Virgia, and Wyomg, were also affected by the Supreme Court lg bee they were the jurisdictns of the lower urts that had overturned the gay marriage bans.

CALIFORNIA VOTERS WILL BE ASKED TO REAFFIRM GAY MARRIAGE PROTECTNS ON 2024 BALLOT

Although there is no current threat to the legaly of gay marriage, and Print Bin signed a bill safeguardg last year, the Democratic-domant state Legislature is seekg to remove language om California’s Constutn that still f marriage as between a man and outdated state fn has been emed unenforceable and unnstutnal thanks to feral law, but LGBTQ advocy groups are askg voters to repeal and amend the California Constutn to stead explicly state that marriage is “a fundamental right. "Jt as Hawaii's high urt seemed poised to allow same-sex marriag, gay activists have seen their visns of legal weddgs on the beach of Mi disappear as voters approved Constutnal Amendment 2, givg the legislature power to 'rerve marriage to oppose-sex upl.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR.

"Rabbis belongg to the biggt and most liberal branch of Judaism the Uned Stat have voted to regnise the partnerships of gay and lbian Central Conference of Amerin Rabbis, which is part of the Jewish Reform movement, has agreed to sanctn relig ceremoni for same-sex Print of the Conference, Rabbi Charl Kroloff, said that gay and lbian people served the regnn and rpect due to people created the image of God. The upl are barred om adoptg children overseas bee of potential objectns om untri that do not accept gay the new legislatn, all referenc to genr laws erng matrimony and adoptn will be leted favor of the ntral-genr term, partner. "Before the lg [Supreme Court lg that laws makg gay sex a crime were unnstutnal], supporters the Hoe [US Hoe of Reprentativ] of a nstutnal amendment that would more formally rtrict marriage to the unn of a man and a woman were havg trouble attractg sponsors.

"A unty clerk issued marriage licens Friday to at least 15 gay upl, some of whom then exchanged vows outsi the urthoe, as more same-sex upl led up for a chance to tie the Mexi law f marriage as a ntract between ntractg parti but do not mentn genr.

24, 2004] while makg his most revealg public ments so far about the sexual orientatn of his gay his posn on the subject at a town hall meetg here, Cheney replied: 'Lynne and I have a gay dghter, so 's an issue that our fay is very faiar wh.... 'In view of the substance and signifince of the fundamental nstutnal right to form a fay relatnship, ' he wrote, 'the California Constutn properly mt be terpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex upl as well as to oppose-sex upl. Proposn 8 was the most expensive proposn on any ballot the natn this year, wh more than $74 ln spent by both measure's most fervent proponents believed that nothg ls than the future of tradnal fai was at stake, while opponents believed that they were fightg for the fundamental right of gay people to be treated equally unr the years ago, Californians voted 61% to fe marriage as beg only between a man and a California Supreme Court overturned that measure, Proposn 22, s May 15 cisn legalizg same-sex marriage on the grounds that the state Constutn required equal treatment of gay and lbian upl.

GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE

Cuomo signed the measure after passed a Republin-ntrolled Senate on Friday night [June 24, 2011], raisg qutns as to whether the move reflects new momentum the gay rights said the law will grant same-sex upl equal rights to marry 'as well as hundreds of rights, benefs and protectns that are currently limed to married upl of the oppose sex. Print history to fully embrace that level of civil rights for ’s announcement gave an immediate jolt to the s-long movement for gay equaly at a moment when a growg number of stat are movg to ban — or legalize — same-sex unns and as polls show a majory of Amerins support marriage rights. "Voters Mae and Maryland approved same-sex marriage on a day of electn rults that jubilant gay rights advot lled a historic turng pot, the first time that marriage for gay men and lbians has been approved at the ballot Mnota, another first, voters rejected a proposal to amend the State Constutn to fe marriage as between a man and a woman, a measure that has been enshred the nstutns of 30 stat.

"The Pentagon announced Monday that would extend 20 new benefs to same-sex ary upl, cludg accs to base facili and groups as well as jot assignments, the latt move by the Obama admistratn to heed lls om gay and lbians prsg for change. "The Supreme Court stck down a key part of the feral Defense of Marriage Act on Wednday and clared that same-sex upl who are legally married serve equal rights to the benefs unr feral law that go to all other married cisn is a landmark w for the gay rights movement.

Dissentg were Jtic John Roberts, Anton Slia, Samuel Alo and Clarence lg means that more than 100, 000 gay and lbian upl who are legally married will be able to take advantage of tax breaks, pensn rights and other benefs that are available to other married upl. "The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal over same-sex marriage on jurisdictnal grounds, lg Wednday private parti do not have 'standg' to fend California's voter-approved ballot measure barrg gay and lbian upl om state-sanctned lg clears the way for same-sex marriag California to 5-4 cisn avoids, for now, a sweepg ncln on whether same-sex marriage is a nstutnal 'equal protectn' right that would apply to all issue was whether the Constutn's guarantee of equal protectn unr the law prevents stat om fg marriage to exclu same-sex upl, and whether a state n revoke same-sex marriage through referendum, as California did, once already has been a majory of the Supreme Court opted not to le on those issu.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS COULD REMOVE IT NEXT YEAR

"All legally married same-sex upl will be regnized for feral tax purpos no matter what state they live , the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department announced Thursday a change that will affect numero upl stat that have not permted gay change policy follows the Supreme Court's cisn June overturng a key provisn of the Defense of Marriage Act that barred the feral ernment om regnizg same-sex marriag for purpos such as surance benefs, immigratn and tax new approach 'provis accs to benefs, rponsibili and protectns unr feral tax law that all Amerins serve, ' Treasury Secretary Jab J. "A tough ban on same-sex relatnships that threatens vlators wh 14-year prison terms has been quietly signed to law by the print of Nigeria, Ai’s most populo natn, a step that rights advot have long feared not only as a reprsn aimed at gays but as an afont to basic eedoms of speech and ban, known as the Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act, was passed by Parliament May but was not signed by the print, Goodluck Jonathan, until Jan. 7, Nigerian news agenci reported Monday om Abuja, the the Nigerian law, is illegal not only to engage an timate relatnship wh a member of the same sex, but to attend or anize a meetg of gays, or patronize or operate any type of gay anizatn, cludg private clubs.