California Proposition 8: Same Sex Marriage The equal right to marry for same-sex couples in the United States has acquired growing public support over time, with a quantity of state-level laws passed and others presently up for debate. Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment that was passed in the November state elections in California. The measure added a new provision, Section 7. History teaches us that marriage has classically been between a man and a woman, but in the recent years, people have begun to challenge that notion. Gay marriage has been one of the most controversial topics of debate lately, dividing our nation into those who support the idea and those who oppose.
Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act on July 20, On June 10, , the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a decision immediately legalizing same-sex marriage in Ontario, thereby becoming the first province where it was legal. The introduction of a federal gender-neutral marriage definition made Canada the fourth country in the world, and the first country outside Europe , to legally recognize same-sex marriage throughout its borders. More than 3, same-sex couples had already married in those areas before the Civil Marriage Act was passed.
States across U.S. still cling to outdated gay marriage bans
Same-sex marriage is legal in the U. The state first issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples June 16, as a result of the Supreme Court of California finding in In re Marriage Cases that barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the state's Constitution. The issuance of such licenses was halted from November 5, through June 27, though existing same-sex marriages continued to be valid due to the passage of Proposition 8 —a state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. Perry , which restored the effect of a federal district court ruling that overturned Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. Constitution in Perry v.
Same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry in California since , when the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal in Hollingsworth v. This reinstated the trial court ruling invalidating Proposition 8, which had stripped same-sex couples of the freedom to marry. Thanks to the U. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v.