Justice
Carlos R. Moreno wrote the the lone dissenting opinion in the
California Supreme Court's 6-1 decision to uphold
Proposition 8. He said today's majority opinion "weakens the
status of our state constitution."
Justice
Carlos R. Moreno wrote the the lone dissenting opinion in the
California Supreme Court's 6-1 decision to uphold
Proposition 8.
"I conclude that
requiring discrimination against a minority group on the basis
of a suspect classification strikes at the core of the promise
of equality that underlies our California Constitution, "
Moreno wrote in the opinion.
In opposition to the
majority opinion, Moreno argued that because Proposition 8
drastically changed the "nature and operation" of
governmental structure it should be considered a revision of
the constitution rather than an amendment. Plaintiffs had
argued that such a major change to constitution must be
considered a revision, which cannot be voted on through the
initiative process.
The justice referred to
California's equal protection clause, which protects
fundamental rights of minorities from the will of the majority,
as the principle most "underlying" to the
constitution. "Proposition 8's withdrawal of any of those
rights from gays and lesbians cannot be accomplished through
constitutional amendment," he wrote.
Proposition 8, he
argued, demonstrated an "unprecedented instance of a
majority of voters altering the meaning of the equal protection
cause."
Moreno also cited the
Iowa supreme court's April argument for allowing same-sex
marriage and said today's majority ruling "weakens the
status of our state constitution."
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