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Between the late 70’s and the early 2000’s, several conservative California propositions were introduced as a means to restore traditional values in society, while simultaneously discriminating against the LGBTQ community. We aim to examine how these propositions affected the general LGBTQ community and more specifically how prop 22 effected LGBTQ individuals in Monterey County.
Prop 6, or the Briggs Initiative, was introduced by John Briggs, a republican senator of California. After being inspired by Anita Bryant’s Save Our Children campaign, Briggs wanted to restore traditional values back into the community. This was the first LGBTQ related measure on a statewide ballot. In 1978, Briggs sponsored prop 6, banning teachers who identified as homosexual, from teaching at any public school in California. [1] Teachers could be fired for “advocating, imposing, encouraging or promoting” homosexuality. Although the prop was aimed at limiting the LGBTQ community, the initiative did the opposite. It sparked public backlash that created political and social change and helped mobilize the movement on a state level. Many activist groups emerged in reaction to the legislature including No on 6 and MECLA. Leaders and activists such as Harvey Milk and David Mixner played a huge role in the fight against prop 6. Activism and changing attitudes helped lead to the demise of the initiative in the 1978 ballot for California. After the defeat of prop 6, the LGBTQ community would continue to face several other conservative legislative challenges. The Briggs Initiative laid a political and cultural foundation that led to further discriminatory initiatives such as Prop 22 and Prop 8. [2]
Proposition 22 was an anti-gay initiative sponsored by state senator Pete Knight for the March 2000 California primary ballot that states “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized by the state of California.” [3] The proposition was enacted by California voters in March 2000, however in May 2008 it was deemed on the contrary of the state constitution by the California Supreme Court. This initiative sparked a large controversy around the definition of marriage and added social pressures on LGBTQ individuals. Folks from varying backgrounds in the Monterey County found the initiative to be intrusive, divisive, unfair, and unnecessary. In distributed pamphlets by the Monterey Coalition for Fairness, an organization against the initiative, wrote that there is already a law that states marriage is between a man and a woman. The organization also wrote that this initiative would force the government to invade the household by defining family, it would violate the federal constitution’s full faith and credit laws, and it would divide voters. [4] A letter from Matt Friday to the editor of The Harold, describes the voting statistics of the Monterey county area in relation to California as a whole. He writes that only 52% of registered voters actually voted in the primary, and 30% of Monterey County’s registered voters chose yes on prop 22 while 44% voted no. [5]
Prop 8 was a California Ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment passed on November 2008. The proposition eliminated the right of same sex couples to be married which is devastating for many Californian couples. Proposition 8 countermanded the 2008 ruling by adding the same provision as in Proposition 22 to the California Constitution, providing that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California", thereby superseding the 2008 ruling. [6] The LGBTQ community has continually had to defend and protect themselves from society and this can be seen in history. Even with suppression this community has continued to push forward through movements and activism. Lillian Faderman illustrates how the movement changed from homophile private organizations to public, radical groups. [7] These big movements in the past give inspiration to today's community that working together will cause a public response and a better outcome for their community. Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States provides essential timelines of information about the LGBTQ community events that unfold, which has been glossed over, and unaccounted for by many historians. Such as Prop 8 which was looking to ban the marriage of same sex love. Bronski discusses issues of censorship, oppression, criminalization, changing attitudes and identities of both heterosexual and homosexual communities. With knowledge of the past and politics the LGBTQ community will continue to fight against injustice. [8]
These propositions led to public backlash that bounded the LGBTQ community closer together by fighting against these initiatives. It is this energy that made the needed environment for a court case like Obergefell v. Hodges to be passed in favor of same sex marriage.
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References
[1] Josh Sides, "Sexual Propositions." Boom: A Journal of California 1, no. 3 (2011), 30-43. doi:10.1525/boom.2011.1.3.30.
[2] Robert C. Evans, “LGBTQ Events.” Great Events From History, no. 3 (2017): 297-300.
[3] What is the Knight Initiative? Monterey, CA. Monterey Coalition For Fairness.
[4] What is the Knight Initiative
[5] Matt Friday, Letter to the Editor of The Herald, Monterey, CA (2000).
[6] Dan Morain, "Democratic Lawmakers Fight Prop. 8." Los Angeles Times. November 11, 2008.
[7] Lillian Fadermen, The Gay Revolution (New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2015), 91-467.
[8] Michael Bronski, A Queer History of the United States (Boston: Beacon Press, 2011), 1-215.