Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Vice Mayor Robert Garcia raised a gay pride flag at the Long Beach City Hall Plaza yesterday morning to show support for same-sex marriage as the U.S. Supreme Court hears marriage equality cases on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A vigil also took place at City Hall for supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage to voice their opinions on Proposition 8, Garcia said. Prop. 8 – which was passed in 2008 – would establish in California that only marriage between a man and a woman can be considered valid.
According to ballotpedia.org, 52 percent of Californians voted “yes” on Prop. 8 in the November 2008 election. After numerous protests and appeals made by gay marriage supporters, however, a federal judge ruled Prop. 8 as unconstitutional in 2010, according to the Southern California Public Radio (KPCC) website.
The proposition then made its way to the Supreme Court in December after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling against Prop. 8, according to the KPCC website.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments against Prop. 8. On Wednesday, the court will hear arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which would establish that same-sex marriages in one state need not be recognized by all other states, according to the bill’s text. DOMA was found unconstitutional by a federal appeals court last year.
“We raised the flag over Long Beach City Hall for the first time to show support and solidarity for equality in marriage,” Garcia said. “The entire Long Beach City Council voted in support of same-sex marriage.”
The flag-raising event commemorated the Courage Campaign’s California Mayors United Against Proposition 8 movement, in which mayors across California signed a letter to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage and agreed to fly the gay pride flag in their respective cities, according to a press release from the Office of Mayor Bob Foster.
Garcia said the most recent vote about Prop. 8 for the Long Beach City Council took place last year. The unanimous vote determined that the City Council agrees that same-sex marriage should be legalized.
“Prop. 8 is unconstitutional, and Californian gay brothers and sisters should be able to marry the one they love,” Garcia said.
Some Cal State Long Beach students, like sophomore child development major Sara Aguilera, said they were in favor of same-sex marriage as well.
“I think people should be able to be with whoever they want, regardless of the sex,” Aguilera said.
Other students, however, said that they are conflicted about Prop. 8.
“I’m in the middle,” Ismael Guerrero, a sophomore health administration major, said. “I see marriage as something between a man and a woman, but at the same time, you should be able to marry whoever you want.”
Garcia said the gay pride flag will be displayed at Long Beach City Hall for two days as the Supreme Court hears the cases on Prop. 8 and DOMA.