The state Assembly passed a proposed constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality in the Golden State with bipartisan support on Monday, which marked the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which restored marriage equality in California. Photo: iStock
The state Assembly passed a proposed constitutional amendment to protect marriage equality in the Golden State with bipartisan support on Monday, which marked the 10-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which restored marriage equality in California.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, also known as ACA 5, authored by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) and Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would amend the California Constitution to protect the freedom to marry and remove the unconstitutional and discriminatory language from Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage, but was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Amending the state Constitution would help safeguard against any future attempts to restrict marriage rights for same-sex or interracial couples.
“Repealing Prop 8 is an essential step in protecting the freedom to marry for millions of LGBTQ Californians,” Wiener said in a statement in February when ACA 5 was introduced. “This scar on our Constitution is unconscionable, and it needs to be removed, especially with extremist Supreme Court justices threatening to overturn marriage equality. It’s time to send this issue to California voters to right this wrong.”
ACA 5 heads to the state Senate, where more than the required two-thirds of the chamber have already signed on as co-authors.
It is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
If the full Senate approves ACA 5, the measure would go to a referendum and voters would decide in the November 2024 general election.
California could follow Nevada, which in 2020 became the first state to amend its constitution to ensure the right to same-sex marriage.
The issue took on fresh urgency last year when the Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion established by Roe v. Wade. At the time, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas set his sites on other prominent cases and urged the court to reconsider them.
His list included the court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which, in 2015, forced states to issue and recognize same-sex marriages.
