Professors Discuss Marriage Rights in California
In a September 10, 2008, faculty panel discussion hosted by UC Davis law students, Professors Alan Brownstein, Courtney Joslin, and Cruz Reynoso examined In Re Marriage Cases and California Proposition 8 (2008). In its decision in In Re Marriage Cases, the Supreme Court of California held that limiting marriages to opposite-sex couples violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples. In response to this ruling, Proposition 8, one of the initiatives to be included on the November 2008 state ballot, would amend California's constitution to limit validity and recognition of marriage to opposite-sex couples only.
The discussion allowed panelists to touch on, among other things, their personal reactions to the court's decision; the impact of the decision on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities around the nation; and the ramifications of Proposition 8 for those same-sex couples entered into legal unions before the November election.
Brownstein, Joslin, and Reynoso are professors of law at UC Davis, with areas of specialty in constitutional law, family and relationship recognition, and civil rights, respectively.