A Call to Action
I’m not an attorney. However, it seems to me that the best way to both overturn Prop. 8 and ensure that other minority groups do not have their civil rights taken away at the ballot box in the future is to amend the California Constitution with an Equal Rights Amendment.
The California Equal Rights Amendment would read something like this:
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law in California shall not be denied or abridged by the state on account of:
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity
- Immigration status
- The disbelief or denial of the existence of God or gods
- The choice not to practice a religion or creed
- DNA or genetic differences
Section 2. The California legislature shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
This amendment should be promoted by LGBT rights groups, immigrant rights groups, groups who fight for separation of church and state, and those who lobby against genetic discrimination.
I believe that such an amendment would put California decades ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to civil rights for all citizens.
How do I get something like this started? Well, this blog diary is the first step. I’d like your feedback. We need to start I discussion and get this idea to civil rights attorneys and the various groups who would be active in getting this legislation on the ballot in California.
If you’re an attorney, let me know what you think of my wording. I based it on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) that has currently been ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states to make it into an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
However, the it has been decades since the ERA was introduced. It only covers equal rights for women (based on sex) and ignores many other important groups that are routinely subjected to discrimination under state and federal laws.
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