Prop 8, California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Declared Unconstitutional

The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution reads:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

It's that last bit, "nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws", that's particularly important and makes clear that Prop 8 is/was unconstitutional.

The justices concluded that the law had no purpose other than to deny gay couples marriage, since California already grants them all the rights and benefits of marriage if they register as domestic partners.  The measure "serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples," Judge Stephen Reinhardt, one of the court's most liberal judges, wrote in the 2-1 opinion.

It's still not clear to me why the Prop 8 proponents are so hellbent on denying marriage equality to gays and lesbians.  They say they must "protect traditional marriage", to which I respond "From what?".  Newt Gingrich and Kim Kardashian have done far more damage to traditional marriage than all of the married gays and lesbians in CT, IA, MA, NH, NY, VT and Washington DC combined!  Others try to object on religious grounds.  I don't quite understand that either, but then again I'm not one for organized religions.  As the saying goes, "I don't have religious views, I have views on religion", and in my experience a lot of people hide their fear, hatred, intolerance and bigotry inside the robes of religion.  I plan to explore the concept of objecting to equal rights for gays and lesbians on religious grounds, and as my knowledge base expands I'm sure you'll see more posts on the topic.  In the meantime, you're welcome to share your thoughts here...