California, a U.S. trendsetter for progressive policies and a state where the current governor once made news issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco before it was legal, will attempt to enshrine marriage equality in the state constitution. The effort comes 15 years after a voter-approved initiative, Proposition 8, banned the state from recognizing same-sex marriages. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California. The constitutional amendment is still on the books, however, and that worries advocates who think the high court may revisit the 2015 case that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
“It’s absolute poison, it is so destructive and it’s humiliating that this is in our constitution,” said Scott Wiener, a state senator who represents San Francisco.