Prop 8 was a ballot initiative, started by and primarily funded by religious groups. It's not a "republican" thing.
It was supported by some prominent republicans because of the word "marriage," and for political reasons[0]. Note that to religious conservative thinkers the word "marriage" has deep religious meaning, and to regulate marriage is to encroach on the separation of church and state. This is why many republicans are okay with "civil unions" but have such strong opinions over the word "marriage."
Personally I voted NO on Prop 8, fwiw.
[0] Political science is the pinnacle of complexity in human society. But a lot of it can be understood as virtue signaling combined with pandering to the lowest common denominator and their short attention spans, combined with the destabilizing effects of primary-issue voters. So while there is a primary distinction between the left- and right- political spectrum which has to do with the role of government, there's also a bunch of tag-along, hot-button issues which politicians pay lip service to in order to get elected by the ignorant majority, but don't really influence legislation to large degree. Things like gay marriage, abortion rights, and climate change fall in these categories, sadly.
Which is to say, you'll find conservative think-tanks putting out policy papers justifying the status quo for marriage rights on the grounds that I mentioned. But then some religious fanatics get something like California's Prop 8 on the ballot and republican politicians feel they have to endorse it if they want to get re-elected, which they do. But in reality they're quite happy with the "civil union" compromise because it solves the fundamental civil rights issue without infringing on the religious definition of marriage.
I'm curious, which fanatical Christian religious groups in California that are not Republican supported prop 8?
Also pretending like the core issues of the party are small auxiliary issues that the party doesn't believe in is ridiculous considering their work on passing laws and enforcing them in the courts. If abortion or other issues were not big issues, why does the party constantly pass laws and enforce laws against them? Actions speak for themselves. No amount of propaganda changes that. It'd be like pretending that healthcare is not an issue for the democrats right now. It's absurd.
It was supported by some prominent republicans because of the word "marriage," and for political reasons[0]. Note that to religious conservative thinkers the word "marriage" has deep religious meaning, and to regulate marriage is to encroach on the separation of church and state. This is why many republicans are okay with "civil unions" but have such strong opinions over the word "marriage."
Personally I voted NO on Prop 8, fwiw.
[0] Political science is the pinnacle of complexity in human society. But a lot of it can be understood as virtue signaling combined with pandering to the lowest common denominator and their short attention spans, combined with the destabilizing effects of primary-issue voters. So while there is a primary distinction between the left- and right- political spectrum which has to do with the role of government, there's also a bunch of tag-along, hot-button issues which politicians pay lip service to in order to get elected by the ignorant majority, but don't really influence legislation to large degree. Things like gay marriage, abortion rights, and climate change fall in these categories, sadly.
Which is to say, you'll find conservative think-tanks putting out policy papers justifying the status quo for marriage rights on the grounds that I mentioned. But then some religious fanatics get something like California's Prop 8 on the ballot and republican politicians feel they have to endorse it if they want to get re-elected, which they do. But in reality they're quite happy with the "civil union" compromise because it solves the fundamental civil rights issue without infringing on the religious definition of marriage.