California's Proposition 8: The Civil Rights Movement

Superior Essays
There have been several times within American politics where the rights of groups of people have been fought over. These types of fights have been spread over the course of America’s history the most well known being the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. One of the most recent of these fights was the repeal of California’s Proposition 8, originally titled the “California Marriage Protection Act,” which only affected same-sex couples. Proposition 8 was a proposal for an amendment addition to the California constitution stating “only marriage between a man and a women is valid or recognized in California,” creating controversy between groups. The California Supreme Court saw that “limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples,” was violating …show more content…
The interest groups in this case were on either side of Proposition 8 and they were often seen as people being too liberal or too conservative on the rights of same-sex couples. The main informal actor that was for Proposition 8 was religious organizations which contributed funds assisting in altering the position that the amendment stood for. The view of these interest groups is often as “less tolerant of views that clash with their own,” as it could be possible for their lifestyle to be affected. Their solution to the possibility of tarnish to their ideals was to become political actors in America to fight their beliefs. The interest groups that supported the “California Marriage Protection” being obstructed saw the purpose of the ideology of everyone having a right to marry the person they want and it was being taken away after being given. The purpose of why these people fought so hard for the nation to see things for their sides could be multiple reasons for the supporters of Proposition 8 it could be because of its for their party or religious reason. The opponents of the Proposition 8 though could be for party support, personal reasons, or maybe it could have the hippest to support for some. The reasons that people fight for their opinion has increasingly parted from their personal opinion to their …show more content…
The action of trying to remove rights already given to a class of people with no rational cause was seen as unjust. The repeal of Proposition 8 was one of the first steps to gaining more equal rights for all types of people in the United States. The future of rights for citizens seems to be heading in a more liberal direction where the sexuality of a person does not matter on the type of rights that they have. Americans in the future may have a time where conservative ideals can coexist smoothly with liberal thoughts to the point where every Americans no matter race, sexuality, or religion will affect their rights. America was build for people to escape persecution and to have opportunities to transform themselves, but if their rights are equal than their way to the American dream is even more difficult. The American people should not be fighting for one type of group of people’s rights and trying crushing another group of people rights. The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment allows for the federal government to change laws and issues in states if they target a group or class of people. Proposition 8 did just that by stating the right of marriage should only be to opposite-sex couples completely cut off same-sex couples who had already been given the right and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In its entirety, Proposition 8 provides: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. " Plaintiffs allege that Proposition 8 deprives them of due process and of equal protection of the laws contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and that its enforcement by state officials violates 42 USC § 1983. Plaintiffs are two couples. Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier reside in Berkeley, California and raise four children together.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The right to marry might seem trivial to some, but for those who have never been able too, it is an amazing feeling. Although not everyone feels so positively about it, those individuals are not in great company at least that is what the research suggests. That is not to say that these individuals and entities are not causing problems for those trying to enjoy the right. The most notable are the clerks in Kentucky refusing to issue licenses and the courts in Arkansas upholding poor legislation to attack homosexual couples. Overall, this case decision has set the stage for equal protection and treatment for the LGBT…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When there is a conflict between legislation and Constitutional provisions, it is the job of the Court to consider an assertion of liberty. When you apply these considerations, the Court has recognized that the Constitution has protected the right to marry, which was referenced in the case Loving v Virginia, where the Court found the bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional. The implication of the previous case that was concerned about opposite-sex marriages, established a far more important…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sullivan then goes on to say that marriage licenses are not granted on the condition that the couple is going to or is bearing children. The emotional commitment between two people is the contemporary West’s way for a state to define marriage. If a state were to deny two people marriage because of their homosexaul tendency, then they therefore are infringing the law by denying the equal right to marriage. By stripping the right of marriage, Sullivan has a strong argument that the homosexual people are being denied the equal protection clause in the fourteenth amendment of the United State’s Constitution. From there, the comparison could be drawn to african-americans.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    As I look at each side of the story I can see good point brought up on both sides of the story. For pros, you can’t deny the Constitution, and its rights that it allows people, but on the cons side, many people feel very strongly about their religion and wouldn’t want to go against it. I previously stated in the introduction that I felt that homosexuals should have the same rights that we do. I agree with Frank McEnulty, the President of Our Castle Homes though on the fact that homosexuals should have rights, but not “gay rights”, everyone should have the same rights. McEnulty stated…

    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although these bills may seem to effect a small percentage of our community, the larger implications of discrimination are on the for front and we must protect these rights at all cost. Not only is the rights of the LGBT being challenged but the rights of all Americans as well. It is an unfair practice and should not be allowed by the “People” who elected these state officials.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The majority takes care of itself.” Although it may not seem like it, there are members of the government who realize that this right should give equal protection for all, and thus members of the House of Representatives have proposed the First Amendment Defense Act. In the midst of the Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage on a federal level, conflict has risen between religious institutes and members of the LGBT community which the members of the House of Representatives has acknowledged,…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In June of 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that both Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act are unconstitutional.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Same Sex Amendment Essay

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Everyone deserves the freedom to live their life happily. This is why I support the notion to amend the amendment against same sex marriage. Amending the U.S. Constitution is not an easy process. You cannot just go to the president and say “hey the people don’t like this amendment we have to change it”.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Civil Rights Movement

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Even till this day, the LGBTQ community are still fighting for their rights. In American Government and Politics Today, it states, “To a great extent, lesbian and gay groups have succeeded in changing public opinion – and state and local laws that pertain to their status and rights. Nevertheless, they continue to struggle against age-old biases against homosexuality, often rooted in deeply held religious beliefs…” As a result, the LGBTQ community has since been a group marginalized for who they are in which contradicts what the nations core values…

    • 1763 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Interest Groups LGBT The LGBT, or “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender” group is a faction acting to define and support distinct categories in gay culture (LGBT Helpline, n.d.). For almost a century, LGBT interest groups have fought an uphill battle for equal rights. However, with support from the Obama Administration, this group has managed to achieve great milestones. During Obama’s first term at around 2008, same-sex marriage was considered an exceedingly controversial topic.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    “[Same-sex couples’] hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right." These empowering words were stated by Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on June 26, 2015, a day in which the verdict of the Obergefell v Hodges United States Supreme Court case came to a close. In a 5-4 majority opinion, Obergefell ruled absolute authorization for all fifty states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a right which is protected by the United States Constitution.…

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Same-sex marriage, conflict of laws, and the unconstitutional public policy exception. Yale Law Journal. May 1997, v.106, n7, 1965-2008 Strasser, Mark. Legally Wed. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 1997.…

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the beginning of time, people have fought over their different opinions. With different opinions, there are bound to be a lot of arguments. Some of the arguments can be big or small, and other arguments people do not like to speak of. One of the most confidential is the right for LGBT communities right to be able to get married. This is an ongoing problem that needs to be settled one way or another.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Argumentative Essay On Same Sex Marriage

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited

    Same-sex marriage is not only disruptive to the societal order, it also disrupts the Constitution. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was an amendment to the Constitution…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 7 Works Cited
    Superior Essays