Action Guide March 7, 2000

DESCRIPTION

Proposition 22 would add a provision to the Family Code providing that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

BACKGROUND

California law now states that marriage arises from a civil contract between a man and a woman, and provides that a marriage that took place outside of California and was legal where it took place is generally considered valid in California.

No state now provides for same-sex marriages. However, the Vermont Supreme Court has recently ruled that the state must provide for persons in same-sex unions to receive the same benefits and protections as those in heterosexual marriages. The court gave the state legislature "a reasonable period of time" to enact laws that will extend equal protection to same-sex couples, without specifying exactly how it should be done. (The legislature could redefine marriage or could establish rights and benefits through a domestic partnership arrangement.) The decision was based on the state constitution, and therefore is not subject to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Court rulings in Hawaii this decade appeared to be heading toward recognition of same-sex marriages in that state. However, in 1998 Hawaii voters passed a state constitutional amendment to prevent same-sex marriages. In 1996, Congress passed a law (the federal Defense of Marriage Act) stating that states could refuse to recognize same-sex marriages contracted in other states and that only heterosexual marriages performed in any state would be recognized for purposes of federal law. This law has not yet been subjected to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

IMPORTANT POINTS

• The U.S. Constitution requires all states to give "full faith and credit" to the laws of other states. This initiative would prevent California from recognizing certain marriages that were legally contracted and valid in another state. We now recognize marriages from states that have requirements different from ours, such as lower age limits.

• This measure would also violate the constitutional rights to equal protection and interstate travel.

• Proposition 22 does not make it legal for same-sex marriages to be contracted in California; California law already says only a man and a woman may marry.
• This is a needless law that allows unwarranted governmental intrusion into personal lives. Instead of discriminating against a particular group, we should be working to unite all Californians.

The rebuttal to the supporters' arguments was signed by Gil Garcetti, District Attorney, County of Los Angeles, and Delaine Eastin, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

RESOURCES

No on Knight Campaign, 415-227-1020, email campaign@noonnight.org, www.noonknight.org