It was mentioned that a revision is both a qualitative and a quantitative change to the as-written-Constitution.

1-Quantatative: Prop 8 only requires the edition of 14 words to the California Constitution

2-Qualitative: This issue is much more difficult. The opponents of Prop 8 make the argument that Prop 8 is dicrimination of a “fundamental right” to a “suspect class” of citizens; because the “change” is so important to the Constitution, it should only be revised through legislative avenues.

I cannot find the case, but marriage in California has been deemed a fundamental right (Loving v. VA) UNLESS stated otherwise. The people of California stated otherwise on November 4th by a 52/48 margin. In other words marriage is a fundamental right women and men who marry the opposite sex.

I have never found a case which said homosexuals as a class are suspect. The closest the Supreme Court has come to calling homosexuals a suspect class was in Romer v. Evans (the CO Prop II initiative). In that case the Supreme court told CO that it was a violation of due process to write a law which disallowed legislation to sprcifically protect homosexuals (man is that a convoluded sentence). Eventhough the law was overturned, the Supreme Court admitted to using a rational basis test; most scholars suggest that the Supreme Court used some sort of scrutiny between rational basis and intermediate scrutiny. Rational basis judicial review has always been reserved for classes of people which are not suspect in the eyes of the judiciary. However, the opponents of Prop 8may make the argument that homosexuals are a “political unpopular group” like the hippies were in US Dept. of Agriculture v. Moreno. However, with the amount of legislation which has passed concerning hate crimes for beating up homosexuals etc. I do not know how that argument could be made.

Homosexuals are not a suspect class as they argue because of very recent precedent cases in which the Supreme Court used a rational basis test when scrutinizing laws regarding homosexuals. (Romer and Lawrence).

Prop 8 is an amendment because it is both a minor quantatative and qualitative change to the California Constitution; marriage is only fundamental unless otherwise stated, and homosexyuals are not a suspect class.

Either way, this is going to be a crazy year or so.