Key Points

The text of Proposition 8 is simply: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

A YES vote on Proposition 8 does three things:

• Restores the definition of marriage in California
  God Himself is the author of marriage. The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator



• Overturns the decision of the California Supreme Court
  On May 15, 2008, the Court ruled that to deny marriage to individuals of the same sex was unconstitutional. This radical change discounts the biological reality of marriage, how deeply embedded it is in our culture, language and laws, and redefines it to just mean a contractual agreement of partnership.



• Secure parental rights to teach children about marriage
  If the Supreme Court ruling stands, public schools will have to teach children that there is no difference between traditional marriage and “gay marriage.”

Prepared by the staff of the California Catholic Conference, Sacramento CA 95814