Continuing Fight On Prop 8  

I have been trying to stay out of the Prop 8 conversation because I have several co-workers, whom I consider good friends, who are gay. However, a lot of them just don't get what their community is doing in California.

The following is a clip of Donna Ryu, clinical professor of law at UC Hastings. In the clip she explains that there are two ways of changing the California State Constitution. The document can be 'amended' or 'revised'. She goes on to explain that 'amendments' are brought about for insignificant changes to the constitution, and are brought about by propositions. 'Revisions' are for major changes to the constitution and are brought about by the legislature.

The definitions of the words are:

Amend - to alter, modify, rephrase, or add to or subtract from(a motion,bill, constitution, etc.) by formal procedure

Revise - to amend or alter: to revise one's opinion.
to alter something already written or printed, in order to
make corrections, improve, or update

So the two words mean the same thing. A=X and B=X so therefore A=B, right?



California has set itself up in such a way that allowed for this to happen. The libs for years have used this method to do things like set requirements on companies to do business in a certain way, to set sin taxes on things like cigarettes. ($2.60 a pack? That's nearer to the whole price of a pack here, and the money didn't go entirely to anti-smoking education and recovery of funds to hospitals treating uninsured smokers) But when it comes back to bite them by denying gays the right to marry, all of a sudden it should have been a revision and not an amendment. Sorry, gays, but the people of California have spoken. If you don't like it, or find that you can't change it, vote with your dollars. I'm sure that a mass exodus of gays from California would affect the state in such a way that they would change their mind, but for right now, I hear Massachusetts wouldn't mind having your tax dollars.