California Free Exercise of Gender Identity Initiative (2018)
| California Free Exercise of Gender Identity Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic LGBT issues | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Free Exercise of Gender Identity Initiative (#17-0003) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have added "free exercise and enjoyment of gender identity without discrimination or preference" to the California Declaration of Rights, forbidden the state legislature from passing a law establishing a gender identity, and declared that a person is not incompetent to be a witness or juror due to the person's gender identity. The amendment would also have said that acts inconsistent with the peace or safety of the state would not be excused.[1]
The amendment would have been formatted similarly to Section 4 of the Declaration of Rights, which addresses the free exercise and enjoyment of religion.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ | Establishes Constitutional Right to Gender Identity. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ | Provides constitutional protection against discrimination based on gender identity. Authorizes free exercise of gender identity in a manner consistent with the peace or safety of the state. Prohibits the Legislature from enacting laws establishing a gender identity. States that a person is not incompetent to be a witness or juror because of his or her gender identity.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
- Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ | Unknown fiscal impact on state and local governments—ranging from relatively minor impacts to costs—depending on how the measure is interpreted and implemented.[3] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, California Constitution
The measure would have added a Section 32 to Article I, also known as the Declaration of Rights, of the California Constitution. The following text would have been added:[1]
Sponsors
Sponsors referred to the initiative as the Gender Identity Liberty & Freedom Act. Sponsors described their mission as follows:[4]
| “ | To change the US constitution starting with the Gender Identity Liberty & Freedom Act as an initiative in California. In February 2017 we submitted a referendum to the state Attorney General's office to amend the Constitution of California to protect Gender Identity as a Freedom of Speech.
We will be to collecting over 500,000 signatures to appear on the 2018 ballot, where voters will be able to vote 'yes' and liberate men, women and everyone in-between. By signing this petition you will protect gender identity as free speech. The Gender Liberty and Freedom Campaign will qualify a citizen’s initiative for the 2018 ballot and if passed section 34. would be added to the Constitution, a small but mighty step to protect against discrimination of someones gender identity, the full text of the law is provided below.[3] |
” |
Path to the ballot
In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated constitutional amendment, petitioners must collect signatures equal to eight percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 585,407. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.
- Ashley Illma Gore submitted a letter requesting a title and summary on February 27, 2017.
- A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on May 3, 2017.
- Proponents of the initiative needed to submit 585,407 valid signatures by October 30, 2017, in order for it to make the 2018 ballot.
- Proponents did not at any point report successfully collecting a quarter of the required signatures as required by law, and signature submission was not reported either by the secretary of state or proponents.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 California Attorney General, "Initiative 17-0003," accessed March 1, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed May 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Gender Identity Liberty & Freedom Act, "What We Want," accessed September 2, 2017
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