Overturning Proposition 8: A Step Towards Equality

Columnist and Reverend Byron Williams shares his elation at the overturning of Proposition 8 in California by Judge Vaughn Walker, in his August 8, 2010 column in the Oakland Tribune. Proposition 8 had placed a ban on gay marriage in the state of California, and the judge’s decision invoked the 14th Amendment’s assertion of due process and equal protection. Judge Walker’s ruling stated that the “domestic partnerships” designated by Proposition 8 were unconstitutional in that they failed to “fulfill California’s due process obligation to plaintiffs.” In his column, Williams relates his delight at the renunciation of the Proposition, but warns that this issue will not be settled until the Supreme Court provides a final ruling on the issue of gay marriage. He cites this ruling as a step forward in a loose interpretation of the Constitution that allows flexibility in the definition of “we” in “we the People.” The judge’s ruling essentially extends due process and equal rights promises made in the 14th Amendment to gays and lesbians.