Less than five months after the California Supreme Court recognized the ability of same-sex couples to wed legally as a fundamental right, the 2008 state ballot measure ended this ability. In a disappointing decision, the California Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that they are upholding the ban on same-sex marriage enacted by 52.3 percent of voters in November.
SEIU is an organization that stands for fairness and equality for working people not only in the workplace, but in all aspects of society. Five years ago at our International Convention in 2004, SEIU made winning equal rights and benefits for all our members a priority in bargaining and legislative campaigns at every level of our union, and passed a resolution supporting marriage equality. SEIU International Executive VP Mary Kay Henry, a founding member of SEIU's Lavender Caucus, had this to say after the Court's ruling:
The issues of marriage equality and nondiscrimination that are at the heart of this movement are part of a much larger notion of freedom and equality for all. In January, SEIU and more than 50 other labor unions signed on to an amicus brief to urge the CA high court to overturn Proposition 8. "If a simple majority of voters can take away one fundamental right, it can take away another," read the labor coalitions' brief. "If it can deprive one class of citizens of their rights, it can deprive another class too. Today it is gays and lesbians who are singled out. Tomorrow it could be trade unionists.""Equality is a value dear to our union's members. We opposed Prop 8 and the forces of division and discrimination who produced it. This ruling merely delays the day of regaining an important aspect of equality in California. It does not diminish the dignity of our members and their relationships or our determination to win equality in this country."
The 6-1 decision written by Chief Justice Ron George will allow to stand the 18,000 marriages
