The passage of Prop. 8 not only eliminated marriage equality but also radically altered our state's constitution. Thursday's hearing will hopefully reverse it.
By Geoff Kors
An Advocate.com exclusive posted March 4, 2009
More Rights Than Marriage Hinge on Prop. 8 Hearing
Last November, a simple majority of California voters passed Proposition 8 and supported stripping away our fundamental right to marry. As if this isn't heartbreaking enough, if Prop. 8 is allowed to stand, the damage will extend far beyond the issue of marriage and Prop. 8 will prove to be a great deal more insidious than most voters ever realized.
By passing Prop. 8, California voters did not just vote to eliminate marriage equality. They also voted to drastically and radically alter our state constitution, changing its very purpose and, in the process, putting every fundamental right won by the LGBT community at risk.
The California constitution was created to ensure equal protection and empowerment under the law for all people. Prop. 8 marks the first time a constitutional amendment will have been used to take away an existing fundamental right (in this case, marriage) from one particular group (LGBT community members). In doing so, Prop. 8 destroys the fundamental principle of equal protection under the law -- a principle codified in our constitution and intended to protect minority groups from the oppression of the majority.
If allowed to stand, Prop. 8 sets a dangerous precedent, permitting the majority to take away any fundamental right from any group. Without the right to equal protection, all minority groups are at risk of facing discrimination at the ballot box. Though this reality affects all of us, the current campaigns already under way against LGBT families place us at immediate risk.
Story continues on next page...
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid74329.asp
No comments:
Post a Comment