Quote:
Originally Posted by Derwood
but it was a ballot intitiative that was unconstitutional, and should never have been put to a vote. it trampled all over homosexuals' right to equal protection under the California Constitution.
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How was it unconstitutional? Unlike the 2000 ballot initiative which created a law banning same-sex marriages, which was thusly decided to have violated California's equal protection clause, Prop 8 changed the constitution
itself. How can a constitutional amendment be unconstitutional? Furthermore, California's own constitution allows for it to be amended through ballot initiatives and it's been amended numerous times just that way. Prop 8 is no different than any of those other amendments (And there are about a hundred of them). Indeed, this is a right afforded to the people of California by its state constitution. You can't decry "the will of the people" while claiming Prop 8 to be unconstitutional, since California's constitution allows itself to be amended by "the will of the people".
Anyway, I expect the courts to uphold Prop 8 yet allow those marriages which took place prior to Prop 8 to stand, as there's nothing in Prop 8's wording which would indicate that it's retroactive.