Why California Proposition 8 Should Matter to You

Proposition 8 started out as a way in which to change California's Constitution in order to add a new section and article to it (Article I Section 7.5). It was meant to read as follows:

"Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

As such, the definition of marriage would be restricted to opposite sex couples and do away with the right that same sex couples used to have to marry. This would override portions of rulings that were made In Re Marriage Cases by creating an exception to their preexisting scope of privacy and due process clauses.

In order to qualify for the ballot, Proposition 8 had to receive 694,354 valid petition signatures. This is the amount equal to 8% of the total votes that were cast for the governor in the November 2006 General Election. Proponents actually managed to submit 1,120,801 signatures. As such, the initiative qualified to be put on the ballot.Why It Matters

Our society is based upon traditional marriage, which is something that has served us well for centuries now. California's goal was to strengthen society. It is not the only state to have put forth such a proposition to vote on. Thirty-one other states have also done so with similar results. None of them have ever legalized same sex marriage. California has even tried doing this twice and been told by its voters, twice, that marriage is between a man and a woman.A Final Word On Proposition 8

There are a lot of different things that must be taken into consideration whenever you are deciding upon which side of this issue you stand. There are also a lot of different opinions surrounding this topic. It is up to you to be an informed voter and decide which side of this issue is right for you. Regardless of the side that you choose to take, one thing is for certain: This is an issue that really is going to have a big impact upon society.