Nationwide, ballot measures have mixed results
California, Arizona and Florida passed same-sex marriage bans.
Nov. 7, 2008
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Although Missouri voter approved all statewide ballot measures, initiatives across the country were a mixed bag of results and touched on a variety of issues.
Perhaps the nation's most widely discussed statewide ballot measure, Proposition 8, the resolution to ban same-sex marriage in California after it was made legal in May, passed with 52.5 percent of the vote.
"We are gratified that voters chose to protect traditional marriage and to enshrine its importance in the state constitution," said Ron Prentice, chairman of Protect Marriage, in a news release. "We trust that this decision will be respected by all Californians."
In an effort to block the initiative from being implemented, the National Coalition for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union have all filed lawsuits.
"We were asking that the state Supreme Court invalidate Proposition 8 because this is the first time people's rights have been put to a public vote like this," Lambda Legal spokesman Jason Howe. "It requires not an amendment to the Constitution, but a revision to the Constitution and the procedure is much more complicated than a simple vote by the electorate. It requires the legislature to hold a Constitutional Convention and approve it by two-thirds of the majority."
Howe said both Lambda Legal and California Attorney General Jerry Brown have taken the position that the marriages that have already taken place in California would still be valid.
Same-sex marriage bans passed in Arizona and Florida as well, and Arkansas passed an initiative that would prevent same-sex couples, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, from adopting children or participating in the foster care system. Missouri has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
A few states also had anti-abortion rights measures on the ballot. Colorado Amendment 48, which would have defined a fertilized egg as a person and thus outlawed emergency contraceptives, was defeated with 73 percent of the vote.
"It took an enormous effort to defeat this initiative," said Leslie Durgin, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. "We took it very seriously."
Other abortion rights-related measures included Measure 11 in South Dakota, which would have banned abortion in all cases except rape, incest or "substantial and irreversible" health risk, was voted down with 55 percent voting against the measure. Proposition 4 in California, which would require minors to receive parental consent before having an abortion procedure, was also defeated, with 52 percent voting against the measure.
"I don't think we can say there's a trend and people are voting on the side of choice," Durgin said. "What it does say is we have to pay a lot of attention and ensure people understand what they're voting on."
Kristi Burton, spokeswoman for Colorado for Equal Rights, the group that sponsored Amendment 48, said she was proud of the progress the group made in getting the measure on the ballot.
"We got farther in Colorado on a personhood amendment than any other state," Burton said.
Burton said the group will continue their work in Colorado and that groups in other states are looking to get such amendments on the ballot.
The American Civil Rights Initiative sponsored two ballot measures to end affirmative action programs in state hiring. Their measure passed in Nebraska and is still being contested in Colorado. The group attempted to get a similar measure on the Missouri ballot last year, but did not reach the necessary number of signatures.
Nov. 4 was also a good night for supporters of marijuana law reform.
Michigan approved the use of medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, becoming the 13th state to do so.
The passage of Ballot Question 2 in Massachusetts reduced the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil offense, therefore decreasing the penalty.
More Nov. 7, 2008 Outlook Stories
- Missouri bucks national trend in some races — Despite electing Democrats like Nixon, GOP state legislators retained majorities.
- Nationwide, ballot measures have mixed results — California, Arizona and Florida passed same-sex marriage bans.
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