Look Out for Prop. 4 & Prop. 8

Get ready to see a lot of "No on 4" and "No on 8" signs and banners around here, because California Secretary of State Debra Bowen has assigned numbers for the November ballot initiatives.

Prop. 4 is yet another Parental Notification Measure, as if Californian's hadn't already rejected this misleading and poorly-conceived idea twice in recent years (Prop. 73 in 2005 and Prop. 85 in 2006).

As we said in our June eNewsletter, parents naturally want to be involved in their teenager’s lives, but in the real world, initiatives like this force scared, pregnant teens into seeking unsafe, illegal abortions, or even considering suicide. The real answer to teen pregnancy is strong caring families that foster real communication – not new laws that put our teens at risk. Think about it: no law can force family communication.

And this new law is unnecessary and dangerous. Doctors and counselors say most teenagers do talk to their parents when facing an unintended pregnancy. But the danger lays in the experience of other states that have implemented similar laws: They have seen an increase in the number of second trimester abortions because teens delay being seen or cross state borders to seek proper care. Some, teens may turn to illegal back alley abortions. Laws like this really do put our teens at risk.

Parents – and voters – have said that what they care most about is keeping our teenagers safe. That means always safe, even when teens can’t talk to their parents about an unplanned pregnancy. We will keep working to ensure that this dangerous initiative is defeated once again.

Proposition 8 would amend the California Constitution to prohibit marriage equality, undoing the recent State Supreme Court ruling that has finally allowed loving same-sex couples to marry.

Not only would this write inequality into our State Constitution, but no one yet knows what will happen to same-sex couples who marry between now and November if the ballot measure against marriage equality passes. They may end up in a legal grey area, since their marriages will be legal when they are performed, but could be declared null and void later. California NOW is working in conjunction with Equality California and the Let California Ring coalition to defeat this reactionary and harmful ballot measure.