Long Beach leaders are set to throw their support behind a ballot measure that would eliminate an outdated ban on same-sex marriage from the California constitution, a move they say is necessary because of rising anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments across the country.

California voters banned gay marriage by passing Proposition 8 in 2008. The constitutional amendment remains on the books even though it is now unenforceable. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry extended to same-sex couples — a right that’s since been enshrined in federal law.

California’s overwhelmingly Democratic legislature has now placed a measure on the November ballot to remove Prop. 8’s language if voters approve.


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Advocates have argued the move is necessary after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, another long-standing precedent that, in that case, protected access to abortion.

“Attacks on our LGBTQ+ community have risen to an unprecedented level across the country,” Long Beach City Councilmember Cindy Allen said at a recent meeting. “And extreme right-wing justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are attempting to push our nation backwards.”

Allen and the rest of the City Council voted unanimously on May 7 to have the city attorney draft a resolution expressing their formal support for the state ballot measure.

They’re expected to approve the resolution on Tuesday.

“By advocating for the Measure,” the resolution says in part, “the City can reaffirm its commitment to rejecting prejudice and enhancing the principles of equal opportunity and recognition for all individuals.”

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.