California Religious Group Raises Alarm About Cousin Marriage

A California religious group warned that the ballot measure intended to protect same-sex marriage will have “unintended consequences.”

California still has laws on the books that prohibit same-sex marriage. Proposition 8, passed by California voters in 2008, was struck down as unconstitutional in 2015 after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage should be legal nationwide. But many in the LGBTQ+ community fear that the court may reverse its decision, as Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out after overturning. Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Legislators in California will vote on an amendment in November that will overturn Proposition 8 and establish legal protection for same-sex marriage in the Golden State if the Supreme Court ends the protection of same-sex marriage nationwide.

Conservative groups, such as the California Family Council, which was instrumental in passing Proposition 8, opposed the amendment.

In a press release, the organization issued a warning about what it sees as the risks it believes will come with repealing anti-same-sex marriage laws.

“The absence of a clear definition of marriage is alarming and paves the way for the legalization of polygamy, child marriage, and incest relationships. A stable traditional marriage is very important for the well-being of children and society,” said Jonathan Keller, president of the group, in a statement.

Despite this danger, California has allowed marriage between first cousins ​​and is one of the few states that does not have an age limit on marriage, something that lawyers have sought to change in recent years.

Notably, after same-sex marriage became nationally legal, no country has passed laws supporting incest or child marriage, and supporters of marriage equality have long dismissed this slippery slope argument as baseless.

In fact, many states have stopped child marriage in the past few years, while the Tennessee legislature has tried to pass legislation to ban marriage between cousins ​​but faced opposition from some Republicans.

Assemblyman Evan Low, who introduced the amendment, told ABC7 Los Angeles that it was important to pass this amendment because of concerns about the Supreme Court.

“Given the direction of the Supreme Court of the United States, if they show you who they are, we must believe them. Same-sex protection. The next on the chopping block. They are not done with just the reproduction of freedom. They are coming. for us,” he said. Low.

Newsweek Reached out to the California Family Council and Low for comment via email.

Since 2008, when California voters supported a same-sex marriage ban, attitudes toward same-sex marriage have changed across the United States.

Gallup found in May 2023 that 71 percent of Americans believe that “marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by law as legal, with the same rights as traditional marriages,” while 28 percent disagree and 1 percent have no opinion.

However, in May 2008, 56 percent of Americans disagreed that same-sex marriage should not be recognized, while only 40 percent supported its recognition.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, held a rally in support of the amendment in San Francisco late Friday, according to Los Angeles Times.

“Here we are in 2024, and we’re not experiencing an expansion of rights; we’re experiencing a regression of rights,” he warned.