Sacramento Topics

Proposition 8 is the latest development in the legal battle over same-sex marriage in California. Approved by a 52.1 percent margin on Nov. 4, 2008, the constitutional amendment defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Prior to the election on May 16, the California Supreme Court ruled by a 4-3 vote that the state constitution gave gays and lesbians the right to marry. Between June 16 and Nov. 4, 18,000 same-sex couples married in the state, before the initiative took effect. In 2010 U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker declared the state initiative violates gays' constitutional equal-protection and due process rights, an opinion upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court Appeals Court. Late in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review both Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal same-sex marriage ban passed by Congress in 1996.

From the Bee's archive:

March 1, 2013: California Democrats sign brief in DOMA case, but not Prop. 8 (http://www.sacbee.com/295#storylink=cpy)

Feb. 28, 2013: Field Poll: Same-sex marriage support climbs sharply, hits 61%
(http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/28/5223861/dramatic-climb-in-backing-seen.html)

Dec. 8, 2012: Court's decision on Prop. 8 could affect gay marriage laws across nation (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/08/5040126/courts-decision-on-prop-8-could.html)

Dec. 2, 2012: Regardless of court ruling, opinion on gay marriage has moved (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/02/5024168/regardless-of-court-ruling-opinion.html)

Nov. 30, 2012: Preparations under way for possible gay marriages in California(http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/30/5020252/preparations-under-way-for-possible.html)