The left is waging a war on the nuclear family and gender distinctions by completely rejecting the values and beliefs that make for a well-ordered society. They are intent on erasing all customs, policies, institutions, and traditions that still recognize the complementarity of men and women and God’s design for marriage and human sexuality. One new bill takes direct aim at the true definition of marriage.
Earlier this year, Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Evan Low introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 (ACA 5), a bill to repeal Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution by adding the following words: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
Proposition 8 was a ballot initiative in response to a California Supreme Court decision which wrongly held that the state constitution guarantees a “right” to same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 was ultimately overruled in 2015 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, which found a so-called “right” to marry under the U.S. Constitution for same-sex couples.
However, the language of Proposition 8 still remains in the state constitution. Proponents of same-sex marriage are concerned about the possibility of Obergefell v. Hodges being overturned, as Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have called the ruling into question.
In his opinion for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, Thomas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” Previously, Thomas and Alito claimed that “By choosing to privilege a novel constitutional right [to same-sex marriage] over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment… the Court has created a problem that only it can fix.”
If Obergefell v. Hodges were overturned, Proposition 8 would go back into effect, which is why the left is taking action now.
The current text of ACA 5, which simply states that the legislature intends to “amend the Constitution of the State relating to marriage equality,” is acting as a placeholder while the bill moves through the legislature.
When it is amended, it will explicitly repeal Proposition 8 and could potentially aim to add new language to the state constitution that codifies same-sex marriage into law. With Proposition 8 repealed, California law would revert to a state Supreme Court decision that invalidated a ban on same-sex marriage and affirmed a “right” to “marriage equality.”
It’s crucial that Proposition 8 remains in place, as it protects the only family structure that upholds children’s rights and secures the foundation of our society. The true definition of marriage, a union between one man and one woman, must be the law of the land in order for families to flourish and society to thrive.
