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In November 2008 — five months after gay couples began marrying in the state — Californians went to the polls and voted 52% to 48% to ban same-sex marriage.

Proposition 8 amended California’s Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman and is the state’s costliest social initiative to date, with more than $83 million raised.

The initiative fight got underway after the California Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a 2000 vote that limited marriage to heterosexual couples. In their May 2008 decision, the justices said gay couples had the same fundamental right to marry.

Supporters of Proposition 8 wanted to end gay marriage in California; opponents wanted to maintain the right of same-sex couples to wed.

Read arguments for and against the ban from the Secretary of State's Official Voter Information Guide.