LGBTQ+ lawmakers look to remove Prop 8 from CA constitution amid fears of marriage ban again

ByTim Johns KGO logo
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
LGBTQ lawmakers look to remove Prop 8 from CA constitution
To stop Prop. 8 from becoming law again, members of California's LGBTQ caucus are pushing for a ballot measure to remove it from the CA constitution.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Following the Supreme Court landmark case overturning Roe vs. Wade, LGBTQ+ advocates and lawmakers are worried they might be next.

It's all because of Proposition 8- the marriage for same-sex couples ban that was approved by voters back in 2008.

Struck down by a judge in 2010, it still remains in the state constitution. It can only be removed with voter approval.

Now, many are worried that if the Supreme Court overturns marriage equality, Prop. 8 could become the law of the land once again.

VIDEO: Supreme Court opens door to overturning rights to relationships, marriages between same-sex couples

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega explains how the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe could affect other civil rights issues, like marriage between same-sex couples and in vitro fertilization.

"I think it is wise to look at this," said Margaret Russell.

Russell is a professor at Santa Clara University who has studied laws around sexual orientation.

She says the recent Roe vs. Wade ruling could put other previous court decisions at risk.

"The very fact that the Supreme Court of the United States is looking at this again means that that lower 2010 decision could be revisited," Russell said.

To combat the issue, members of the state's LGBTQ caucus are now pushing for a ballot measure to have voters officially remove Prop 8 from the state constitution.

VIDEO: Would you come out as LGBTQIA+ if you might lose your job?

Coming out is never easy, but before the 1960s, it was illegal to be gay. Even as recently as 1952, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance in its diagnostic manual. We interviewed three LGBT seniors and one youth on the difference in their coming out experiences.

A move Carolyn Wysinger, the president of SF Pride, says she thinks is necessary to take.

"We have come so far with things and opinions about same-sex marriage, but so many people are just coming to that opinion that they are just now realizing how vulnerable it still is," Wysinger said.

And until the law is officially removed, Wysinger says she'll keep fighting.

Ensuring that hard-fought rights are here to stay.

"We have to still be vigilant in a blue state like California," she said.

Now Streaming 24/7 Click Here

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live