Today, the California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to strike down Proposition 22, the California Defense of Marriage Act. By declaring this law unconstitutional, the court has ignored the will of California voters and redefined marriage. Unfortunately, this outcome shows exactly why a state law alone is not sufficient to protect marriage.
We must work quickly to reverse the effects of this loss. As a result of the court's ruling, same-sex couples from other states may soon come to get "married" in California and then return to their home state and demand that the "marriage" be recognized.
In short, it may provide an opportunity for advocates to try to force same-sex "marriage" not just on California, but on the entire country. “The ruling today is very disappointing,” said ADF Senior Counsel Glen Lavy. “Unfortunately, as situations in other states have shown, marriage is not ultimately safe from tampering by activists and others in government until the voters have amended the constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
How You Can HelpThankfully, there is action you can take. Our allies in the area of family policy have successfully gathered the necessary signatures to place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November. This will provide California voters with an opportunity to protect marriage in their state from further attack. However, we fully expect this effort to be met with fierce opposition; advocates of same-sex "marriage" have shown time after time they do not want this issue decided by the people.
Your generous gift today enables ADF to stand against any legal challenges to this proposed amendment's inclusion on the ballot, allowing your voice to be heard on marriage in November.
Your continued support for marriage is critical. In state after state, when the people have been allowed to vote on marriage, they have
overwhelmingly recognized that it is the union of one man and one woman. We believe this can happen in California as well...but only if ADF has the support to successfully defend your legal right to be heard.
Your gift today helps us continue to defend marriage in your state and across the country.