After a 12 year battle concerning marriage, the vote and opinion seems to be swinging back in favor of gay rights. Before Proposition 8, there was Proposition 22.
In 2000, on March 7, the “Defense of Marriage Act” was voted in by 61 percent(pdf). This vote added the words “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” to the California Constitution.
In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against Prop 22 and the amendment was overturned on grounds of being unconstitutional. This upset to the supporters of Prop 22 led to a push for a second vote on the amendment, citing that the Supreme Court had no right to throw out a law instated by a majority vote. Proposition 8 was added to the ballot, asking for a second vote on Prop 22’s wording.
Within a month of the overturning, approximately 11,000 gay couples wed. Meanwhile, supported of the new Prop 8 were collecting signatures to have the amendment added to the ballots for the Nov. 4 vote in short order.
Supporters of Prop 8 then invested in a campaign to target parents, offering such concepts as “would you let your child attend a gay marriage?” and “a church lost its tax exemption from a gay marriage.” In the end, support of banning gay marriage under Prop 8 just barely made it by a 4 percent margin.
Since 2010, gay rights activists fighting to lift the Prop 8 ban on gay marriage have pressed forward through the list of courts necessary to once again challenge the validity of the amendment. First, they challenged the law federally. Based on action by court defying Prop 8 having merit, the case is then heard by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court. As of yesterday, Feb. 7, the 9th Circuit ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional.
Now the gay rights movement awaits the Supreme Court for a final say. Since this is the second time the exact case has been heard in the California Supreme Court, it is possible they could reinstate the previous verdict without trail and overturn Prop 8 from being law. If this manages to go the same way as last time, this idea of gay rights to marriage can be expected to spread.