Proposition 8

A coalition of more than 50 labor unions Tuesday urged the California Supreme Court to overturn a ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state.

The fight over gay marriage in California is growing like a movement or a cancer, depending on your perspective.

The Proposition 8 campaign has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of California laws that require campaign contributors to disclose personal information, claiming donors to the campaign have been threatened.

A new study of voting patterns on Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would outlaw same-sex marriage, concludes that African American support, reported by exit pollsters at 70 percent, was at least 10 percentage points lower.

A generation ago, then-Gov. Jerry Brown's conscientious stand against the death penalty prompted a revolt in the Legislature and eventually spurred voters to throw out his appointee as chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.

A leader of the campaign to defeat Proposition 8 on Thursday declined an invitation to attend the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

The Gavin Newsom Show came to the capital on Friday, and the 41-year-old San Francisco mayor and would-be gubernatorial candidate energetically seized the day.

Cleve Jones, who was portrayed by Emile Hirsch in the movie "Milk," took part in a rally Wednesday night outside the Sacramento Convention Center to draw attention to the gay rights struggle and deepen solidarity with hotel and hospitality workers.

Kris Applegate, who is gay, will not be at his job as a legislative analyst today. Instead, he will volunteer at the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center.

In the latest sign the battle over same-sex marriage is far from over, the Legislature's gay and lesbian caucus and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg Tuesday introduced a resolution opposing Proposition 8.

What is traditional marriage?

California's political watchdog agency is investigating a complaint alleging the Mormon church failed to report non-monetary contributions to the Yes on 8 campaign, a state official said Monday.

Channeling her inner rock star, attorney Gloria Allred threw her arms in the air to the cheers of more than a thousand who rallied outside the state Capitol on Saturday in hopes of overturning Proposition 8.

Gay rights activists – still reeling from the passage of the statewide ballot measure banning same-sex marriage – hope to gather 10,000 supporters for a rally today at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

Gay rights activists -- still stung by the success of the statewide ballot measure banning same-sex marriage -- are hoping to gather 10,000 supporters for a rally Saturday at the state Capitol.

The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Proposition 8 improperly revised the state constitution, but it refused requests to allow same-sex marriages to resume pending a ruling.

"Even if the law of the land changes and it says it's OK to do it, I still have to do what the Bible says."

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said Wednesday she is appalled at the hostility that has been directed at African Americans since the passage of Proposition 8.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown on Monday urged the California Supreme Court to review legal challenges to Proposition 8, but declined to express an opinion on the gay marriage ban measure approved by voters.

Every so often, we California voters do something that reverberates far beyond the state's borders.

For the past two weeks, Sacramento leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been on high alert.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Sunday he will not join legislative Democrats in a court fight against Proposition 8 despite his opposition to the same-sex marriage ban, but he believes the courts ultimately should and will allow such marriages in California.

We're tied up in knots about gay people tying the knot.

Hundreds of thousands of people nationwide – including 1,500 in downtown Sacramento – rallied on Saturday against Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban narrowly approved by California voters this month.

A coordinated, nationwide protest against the Nov. 4 passage of California's controversial Proposition 8 includes a boisterous crowd in downtown Sacramento.

Federal officials have launched a preliminary inquiry into whether recent acts of vandalism against Mormon temples and meeting houses are hate crimes, a department spokesman said Friday.

The California Supreme Court is soliciting the state's take on lawsuits filed directly with the high court seeking to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage ratified by voters Nov. 4.

The California Supreme Court is soliciting the state's take on lawsuits filed directly with the high court seeking to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage ratified by voters Nov. 4.

A week after California voters approved Proposition 8 and decreed they wanted to end same-sex marriage in the state, details are emerging of an opposition campaign that was in disarray.

A sampling of reactions to Scott Eckern's support of Proposition 8 and his departure as the artistic director of California Musical Theatre:

Scott Eckern, artistic director for the California Musical Theatre, resigned Wednesday as a growing number of artists threatened to boycott the organization because of his $1,000 donation to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California.

More than 60,000 individuals and groups, including thousands of Sacramento residents, contributed a total of roughly $73 million to either side of the Proposition 8 debate, according to a Bee analysis of donations that can be searched by clicking here.

The California Musical Theatre found itaself caught in a dramatic conflict between free speech and civil rights, a situation that ultimately led to today's resignation of artistic director Scott Eckern.

Supporters of Proposition 8 won the election but now are frustrated because they are still fighting for their cause.

The election is over, but passionate debate continues around Proposition 8, the ballot measure that amended the state Constitution to make gay marriage illegal. Here are answers to some of the questions the measure has raised.

Gay and lesbian artists called Monday for an artistic and audience boycott of California Musical Theatre after learning that its artistic director donated $1,000 to a campaign that backed banning gay marriage in California.

Supporters of same-sex marriage rights are fuming over California voters' approval of Proposition 8, which would place a ban on such marriages in the state constitution – especially since in other respects voters showed a somewhat left-of-center bent, including a massive victory by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The California Supreme Court could rule as early as this week on a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate Proposition 8, court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said today.

More than 3,000 opponents of Proposition 8 roared their approval Sunday as speaker after speaker exhorted them to fight to restore the right to same-sex marriage.

It's an explosive question: How could African Americans – and to a lesser extent, Latinos and Asians – discriminate against gays when they have endured such discrimination?

Three days after voters approved a proposition to ban same-sex marriage in California, vandals targeted a Mormon church in Orangevale.

Married last June in a Sacramento synagogue before 300 celebrants, Terry and Barbara Allen-Brecher share a last name, jointly pay state income taxes and possess nearly 19 years of memories together.

Cheryl Weston once attended a wedding ceremony for gay friends, but on Election Day, she voted for a constitutional amendment to declare marriage in California as only between a man and a woman.

Opponents of the ballot measure to end same-sex marriage in California conceded defeat Thursday but pointed to the growing acceptance of gay marriage as proof that they will ultimately triumph.

California's battle over gay marriage shifted from the ballot box to the courts Wednesday as stunned opponents of Proposition 8 declared they had too much at stake to concede.

Wednesday was bittersweet for gays in California.

"The day the Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal, I cried all day. I expect the same reaction tonight. If it (Proposition 8) passes, I'll be devastated."

Opponents of a ballot measure to ban gay marriage refused to concede this morning, despite vote totals that show supporters of Proposition 8 with a 400,000-vote advantage.