California Passes Prop 8 Legislation

By Nicole Dales
Rotunda ReporterLast week voters in California passed Proposition 8, which redefines marriage. The California State Constitution will now read, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The newly-passed legislation eliminates the right of same-sex couples to marry. This has caused uproar with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Questioning community, often referred to as the LGBTQ community.

According to the California General Election Web site, this proposition will provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. In March 2000 California voters passed Proposition 22, which specified that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California, but in May 2008 the California Supreme Court ruled that the statue enacted by this proposition violated the Equal Protection clause of the California State Constitution. As a result of that ruling, marriage between individuals of the same sex was valid and recognized by the state.

This year, Proposition 8 was introduced as an attempt to redefine marriage again as between a man and a woman. The election Web site estimates that this proposition would have some impact in a fiscal sense. Since California is one of the few places where same-sex marriage was legal, many homosexual couples traveled to California to have their weddings. According to the site, this would result in increased revenue, primarily sales tax revenue, to state and local governments. By specifying that marriage between individuals of the same sex is not valid or recognized, this measure could result in revenue loss, mainly from sales taxes, to state and local governments. Over the next few years, this loss could potentially total in the tens of millions of dollars. Over the long run, however, this measure would likely have little fiscal impact on state and local governments.

Some students have argued that this proposition goes against the constitutional rights of same-sex couples. The Bible defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but it has been ruled that church and state should remain separate. Some argue that if the government puts rules and limitations on marriage it is combining church and state.

"A marriage is a Christian value, and by California banning gay marriage they are combining church and state. If they want to get married, let them. They aren't hurting anyone. Being a strong Christian allows me to look past these characteristics and accept the person for who they are, not what they do in the bedroom," said freshman Catherine Miller.

Senior Trent Armitage, president of Longwood Young Democrats, said, "I believe very strongly that homosexuals should have the same rights guaranteed to all citizens of this country, which means hospital visitation, tax benefits and other rights. However, I do not believe that governments should regulate marriage. I believe that marriage is a religious institution and thus governments should not be giving them out. I believe that all couples whether hetero or homosexual should be able to get a civil union license, which will guarantee equal rights."

One problem that stands right now is that those involved in a homosexual relationship do not have the same rights and privileges as those in marriage. For example, if someone is in a car accident and goes to the hospital, their visitation rights are usually limited to family only. If two people of the same sex are not allowed any sort of civil union, then that victim's partner cannot visit him or her in the hospital due to the fact that they are not legally family.