Detail
California, officially the State of California, is a federal state of the United States of America.
Timeline
2000, March 7. California voters consider Proposition 22, a referendum question laid before them by a Republican-led ballot initiative. Proposition 22 moves to amend the California Family Code by adding a new section, § 308.5, with the following text:
Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
Voters approve the measure, 61.35% for, 38.65% against.
2008, May 15. The Supreme Court of California issues judgment in In re Marriage Cases. The Court holds that same-gender couples’ access to marriage is a fundamental right under the Constitution of the State of California, Article 1 § 7. As a result, it sets aside two laws prohibiting same-gender marriage in California:
- the California Civil Code §§ 4100–4101 as amended by AB 607 of 1977;
- the California Family Code § 308.5 as amended by Proposition 22 of 2000.
2008, November 4. California voters consider Proposition 8. The proposition moves to nullify In re Marriage Cases, which held that statutes prohibiting same-gender marriage were unconstitutional, by adding essentially the same language to the California Constitution.
Voters approve the measure, 52.24% for, 47.76% against.
2012, February 7. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issues judgment in Perry v Brown, holding that the language added to the California Constitution by 2008 Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
2013, June 28. After further litigation in higher courts, the Ninth Circuit’s 7 February 2012 ruling in Perry v Brown is allowed to go into effect, permitting Jerry Brown, Governor of California, to order that same-gender marriages will be resumed.
2025, May 27. The California Interscholastic Federation — which is not a California government instrumentality, but has responsibility for regulating high school sports in California — issues a new anti-trans entry process in which cis girl athletes are held to have qualified if they do not qualify because a trans girl athlete outperforms them (Zavala, 2025).
References
Zavala, A. (2025, May 27). California changes high school track and field championship rules amid Trump threats over trans athletes. KCRA (Hearst Communications, Inc.); Archive Today. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
Metadata
- Revision: 1 (28 May 2025).
- Created: 28 May 2025.