What exactly is Propostion 8?

[KevinS]

Hey American friends:

I'm just a Canadian bumpkin here, and I am confused a bit about what you call Proposition 8. Can someone explain it to me?

My [probably incorrect] understanding is that California passed a law allowing gay marriage, and then changed their mind. Is that correct?

Maybe we're a little backward up north here, but once we pass a law, we can't just change our mind. In Canada, marriage law comes under federal jursidiction, so when gay marriage was passed in 2003, it was legal in the enitre country, and that was the end of the story. Yes, lots of evangelicals yelled and screamed that world would end, but it didn't. Eventually everyone realized there was more interesting stuff to get all excited about and just moved on.

Kevin.