This fall, Californians will be tasked with deciding whether the state should update the state constitution to reflect the right for same-sex couples to marry. It’s a preemptive move to safeguard LGBTQ+ marriages amid concerns the U.S. Supreme Court could change things in the future.
Official title on the ballot: Constitutional right to marriage. Legislative constitutional amendment.
You are being asked: Whether California should update the state’s constitution to match what the federal courts have said about who can marry. If approved, this would remove voided Proposition 8 language that’s still in the constitution in an effort to protect LGBTQ+ marriages.
What your vote means
- A “yes” vote means: An outdated sentence from Prop. 8 in the California Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman would be removed. It would also declare that a “right to marry is a fundamental right.” There would be no change in who can marry.
- A “no” vote means: The Prop. 8 language would stay untouched in the California Constitution. There would be no change in who can marry.
Make It Make Sense: Election 2024 Edition
Our election newsletter helps you make sense of the choices on your ballot and what the results mean for your life in SoCal. Starts again this fall.
Understanding Prop. 3
The amendment is practically a repeal of Prop. 8, a measure that banned same-sex marriages from being recognized by the state in 2008. (Prop. 8 was rejected by a higher court in California back in 2013 and two years later the U.S. Supreme Court would declare same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.)
Still, that earlier measure put language in our state constitution — in Article 1, Section 7.5 — that defined marriage as between a man and a woman….
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