California’s Ban on Same-Sex Marriage is Deemed Unconstitutional

Back in November, 2008, California introduced a referendum known as Proposition 8 that banned same-sex unions. Two years later, it was overturned by a court ruling. And now, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says that the initial Proposition is unconstitutional.

Proposition 8 originally stated that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognised in California”. Then, two same-sex couples challenged the statement because it violated their right to equal protection. The 2010 overturning of the ban claimed that Proposition 8 was a violation of civil rights.

My first reaction to the latest news on this issue? About time. It surprises and angers me how people can be so ignorant to ban a civil union between two people that love each other. Why should the government, or any other people, have the right to decide whether or not a couple can be recognized as a union? The opponents of gay marriage argue that same-sex marriage can be dangerous to society by producing gay children, or that it is unnatural and unholy. They pass judgment on gay people and the gay community based on their prejudices on what should be the norm in our culture. Yes, heterosexuality is still a dominating social norm but we need to change that and accept those that are constantly denied freedoms and marginalized. Gay people don’t necessarily produce gay children, just as a heterosexual couple can produce a homosexual child. There is absolutely no reason to think that allowing same-sex marriage will harm society. If anything, lifting the ban will encourage openness and development of diversity among us. And, really, why should straight people care whether someone they choose not to support or accept wants to marry someone they love? Discrimination of gay people and banning gay marriage is just as digressive and destructive as racism, religious intolerance, sexism, and anything you can think of.

I hope that more states move in the direction of legalizing gay marriage.