Voter approval of Proposition 8 last November ‘mdash; which ended same-sex marriage in California ‘mdash; inspired one UCSD student to create the Domestic-Partnership Initiative, a project aimed at finding a compromise between the debate’s pro and con camps.
Founded by John Muir College senior Ali Shams, the initiative calls for the word ‘marriage’ to be removed from California law and replaced with ‘domestic partnership,’ repealing Proposition 8 and giving legal equality to all couples regardless of sexual orientation.
The California constitution currently states that ‘only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California.’ According to Shams, the initiative’s goal is to take ‘marriage’ out of the constitution entirely, rendering it a social ceremony rather than a political institution.
Shams hopes this compromise can resolve the Proposition 8 dispute without offending those opposed to gay marriage for religious reasons.
‘I grew up with a different ethnicity and people would discriminate for being a minority,’ Shams said. ‘But this is California, we’re supposed to be liberal. It’s not fair for people to get married, and then to have their rights removed. I also realize that the religious community may not follow these things and it’s hard to persuade them to look past their religious beliefs, so a compromise is necessary.’
California Institute of the Arts student Kaelan Housewright is working alongside Shams.
‘By making marriage a social institution, we will create equality for both men and women within the state, regardless of their sexual orientation,’ Housewright said. ‘Furthermore, the Domestic Partnership Initiative upholds the belief of separation of church and state put forth by Thomas Jefferson and the First Amendment of our Constitution.’
Housewright and Shams submitted the initiative to the state attorney general’s office last week, where it now awaits fiscal analysis and the official title and summary that would appear on the petition.
Shams hopes to receive the title and summary on March 9, and will then have 150 days to collect 700,000 signatures. If everything goes as planned, the initiative could be put on the ballot as a proposition in 2010.
Shams also started a Facebook group to build support for the initiative. So far, the group has attracted over 1,800 members.
‘We are relying on social Internet networks to get the word out and spread out a petition,’ Shams said. ‘It’s also a social experiment to see if we can do this on a minimal budget. It is pretty ambitious for two college students because usually legislators or actual groups and organizations do this, but we want to see if our generation can really change things.’
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