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Prop 3

Reaffirm the right of same-sex couples to marry 

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What did voters decide?

What would it do?

Proposition 3 would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution, repealing Proposition 8 — a measure approved by voters in 2008 that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. In practice, the ballot measure would not change who can marry.

Why is it on the ballot?

California, the state with the nation’s largest LGBTQ population, was thrust into national spotlight in 2004, when then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, defying a federal ban on gay marriage. The California Supreme Court quickly shut it down, and Californians voted in 2008 to ban same-sex marriage in the state.

That language — while still on the books — is effectively void after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 allowed same-sex marriage to resume in California, and the high court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a historic 2015 decision. In 2020, Nevada became the first state to enshrine the right to same-sex marriage in its constitution. 

California state Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Evan Low, both Democrats in the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, introduced the constitutional amendment as a preemptive protection after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in 2022. Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative, said that the court should also reconsider the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, but other conservatives on the bench disagreed.

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Find out if you agree or disagree with Proposition 3 to inform your 2024 ballot →

For

$3.8M raised

Supporters argue the measure would simply remove obsolete language from the California constitution and uphold the right to a practice already recognized by the highest court in the land. The protection is especially timely, they said, due to “recent threats against fundamental rights,” alluding to the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to decide abortion laws.  

Supporters
  • Equality California
  • American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
  • Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
  • California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
  • California Democratic Party
  • Gov. Gavin Newsom
  • League of Women Voters of California
  • California Labor Federation
  • California Chamber of Commerce
Media Endorsements

Against

$0 raised

Opponents say the measure goes too far and would “override” marriage laws and remove protections against “child marriages, incest, and polygamy.” They argue that it’s best for children to be raised by both mothers and fathers, and that the measure “threatens our shared values of healthy families, healthy children, and a healthy society.”

An analysis of the proposal’s impact by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office does not mention changes to state marriage laws.

Opponents
  • California Family Council
  • The American Council of Evangelicals
Media Endorsements

YouTube video

Funders

Polling Data

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