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California: The Basics
Decades of public education, advocacy and political leadership on marriage equality in California led to the California Supreme Court ruling in May 2008 on In Re: Marriage Cases to uphold the freedom to marry which led to an estimated 18,000 gay couples who were able to marry.
Unfortunately, Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to take away marriage equality, narrowly passed in the November 2008 election and gay couples can no longer marry in California.
Work is already underway to restore the freedom to marry in California and overturn Prop 8.
Use the links below to learn more about marriage in California.
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In letters to legislative leaders, NAACP national board chair Julian Bond and President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous urged passage of House Resolution 5 and Senate Resolution 7 to put the legislature on record calling for invalidation of Prop. 8 as an improper and dangerous alteration of the California Constitution. Read the letters here. (Press Release Link)
The must see video that says it all. Let this moving short show you how, and why we need to spark conversations about the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples across California. (Link)
Read the CA Supreme Court decision for In Re Marriage Cases which upheld the freedom to marry in California. (concludes at p.120)
Freedom to Marry, in collaboration with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Let California Ring, and And Marriage for All, released a new study that discusses what drove the passage of Proposition 8 and debunks the myths about African-American voting on marriage equality. The study also showed support for freedom to marry grew across nearly all demographics in California. (Link)
