JPAC Supports Proposition 3 and Proposition 4 on November Ballot
October 23, 2024
SACRAMENTO, CA — The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) is proud to support Proposition 3, cementing the right to same sex marriage in our constitution, and Proposition 4, the climate change bond. These are issues that are important to the Jewish community’s values.
About Proposition 3
Proposition 3 was placed on the November 2024 ballot by the legislature when it passed ACA 5, which JPAC supported in 2023, and organized 26 Jewish organizations to join the support coalition. This measure removes anti-LGBTQ marriage language from the state constitution that has already been struck down by the courts.
Rights for LGBTQ+ individuals are being rolled back in many states across the country, with over 300 bills introduced in many states this year intending to strip them of their rights and visibility.
California is moving the opposite direction. In 2008, California passed Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage in the state. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law in 2013, two years before enacting a national right to marry. While unenforceable, Prop 8 language remains in the state’s Constitution.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned the court’s previous rulings in Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania, upending the long-established fundamental right to an abortion. Justice Thomas’s concurring opinion suggested the court should revisit other recent rights enumerated by the court, including the right to same sex marriage granted in Obergefell v. Hodges. This puts same sex marriages in California at risk. If a similar ruling was enacted, California’s Constitutional language banning same-sex marriage could take effect once again. Proposition 3 would amend the California Constitution to make clear that the right for LGBTQ+ people to marry in California is protected.
“As a community constantly subject to our own persecution – including record-high levels of contemporary antisemitism – the Jewish community knows the importance of protecting people’s freedom and rights,” said David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director. “This national assault on LGBTQ+ freedom is antithetical to our values. We are proud to support Prop 3 and ensure that California clearly affirms the right for LGBTQ+ people to marry.“
JPAC is supporting the “Jews for the Freedom to Marry – Yes on 3” coalition, led by JCRC Bay Area.
About Proposition 4
Proposition 4 was put on the November 2024 ballot by the legislature when it passed SB 867, authored by former Jewish Caucus co-Chair Senator Ben Allen. JPAC supported SB 867 this year, and organized 20 Jewish organizations to join the support coalition. This measure borrows funds to support safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparedness, and clean air programs. JPAC recently added climate change to its policy framework, based on the Jewish community’s core values.
An April 2022 survey by the Jewish Electorate Institute found that climate change is the single issue that animates Jewish voters most (29% cite it as a top-two issue). Even as far back as 2014, the Public Religion Research Institute found 80% of American Jews believed that climate change was a major problem at a time when only 59% of Americans believed so.
The consequences of climate-related disasters include billions of dollars in property damage, displacement, infrastructure breakdown, and massive impacts on the economy. According to California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the cost of climate change for California alone could be more than $113 billion annually by 2050. These extraordinary expenses will only multiply if the state does not take immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Proposition 4 proposes a general obligation bond to build on recent state investments and mitigate cuts due to the budget deficit. The proposition proposes to fund projects that reduce fire risk and restore already-damaged areas; restore and protect affected wetlands, watersheds, waterways, coastal resources, and fish and wildlife populations; protect the state’s biodiversity; reduce impacts in communities and on vulnerable populations; address extreme heat events; support outdoor access; and improve the resiliency of the state’s water supplies and agricultural lands. Investing in preventative measures as early as possible will not only protect lives and property, it will save billions of dollars in avoided damage costs.
“While climate activists have been ringing the alarm bell for several decades, dramatic climate-related events have made this issue an increasing concern for Californians in recent years,” said Bocarsly. “Wildfires, drought, mudslides, floods, and extreme temperatures are now having a very real impact on our daily lives, and Californians are calling out for a change. This impacts Jewish Californians too, and we won’t miss showing up in this moment, visibly as a Jewish community.”
In Jewish tradition, there is a strong emphasis on the concept of tikkun olam, which means repairing the world. Protecting the environment and the LGBTQ+ community’s rights is imperative in that effort.
“God said to Adam and Eve, ‘Look at my works, how beautiful they are! Take care not to damage or destroy My world, for if you ruin it, there is no one to repair it after you.’” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 7:13)
About JPAC:
The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) is the voice of California’s Jewish community to the State Capitol. Composed of California’s leading Jewish community organizations, JPAC advocates in Sacramento on behalf of the Jewish community’s concerns and broadly shared values. JPAC member organizations – including Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Relations Councils, Jewish Family Service agencies, and others – collectively serve hundreds of thousands of Californians of all backgrounds and represent the interests of California’s 1.2 million Jews, making it the largest single-state coalition of Jewish organizations in the nation.
Since 2019, JPAC has successfully advocated for over $465 million dollars from the state budget for a wide range of community projects, including enhancing community security initiatives for institutions at-risk of being hate-crime targets, and expanding Holocaust education institutions.
For more information, visit us at http://jpac-cal.org.
# # #
Contact: David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director, david@jpac-cal.org