Another blow to gay marriage
Find a Conversation
| Wed, 08-04-2004 - 7:26am |
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040804/D848A57O0.html
Missouri Voters Approve Gay Marriage Ban
Email this Story
Aug 4, 4:47 AM (ET)
By KELLY WIESE
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri voters solidly endorsed a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a decision that was closely watched by national groups on both sides of the battle.
With nearly all precincts reporting, the amendment had garnered 71 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results for Tuesday's vote.
It was the first such vote since the historic ruling in Massachusetts last year that legalized same-sex weddings there.
Although the ban was widely expected to pass in conservative Missouri, experts said the campaign served as a key barometer for which strategies work as at least nine other states, and perhaps as many as 12, vote on similar amendments this year.
Missouri and 37 other states already have laws defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. But amendment supporters fear a court could toss aside the state law, and they believe the state would be on firmer legal ground if an outright ban is part of the Constitution.
"I'm very gratified and encouraged and thankful that the people of this state understand our current policy's a wise public policy and they want to see it protected from a legal challenge," said Vicky Hartzler, a spokeswoman for the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri.
Opponents said the amendment was unnecessary and discriminatory, but knew they faced an uphill battle in Missouri.
"We're already reaching out to these other states, sharing with them what we learned, what worked, what didn't work, and we'll move on," said Doug Gray, campaign manager for the Constitution Defense League. "Ultimately we're right and they're simply wrong."
Supporters and opponents of the amendment have used grassroots campaigns, knocking on doors and making phone calls to tell people about the issue. The group fighting the amendment, the Constitution Defense League, raised more than $360,000, largely from national gay-rights groups, and ran a television ad in the final days before the vote.
The group favoring the amendment, the Coalition to Protect Marriage in Missouri, spread the word through churches and community events, raising just a few thousand dollars but saying public sentiment in Missouri was on their side.
Louisiana residents are to vote on a marriage amendment Sept. 18. Then Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah are to vote on the issue Nov. 2. Initiatives are pending in Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio.
Four states - Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and Nevada - already have similar amendments in their constitutions.
---
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
Visit My Website!
Email me!

Pages
Hey, let's have an amendment for Birthdays: We can all have them, but you can only have cake if you're a hetrosexual!
<>
Not quite the same considering you do not need to obtain a license from the government to celebrate your birthday.
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
Homosexual sex got you down? Allow them to marry!! Everyone knows people stop having sex after they're married.
<>
guess I am
Miffy - Co-CL For The Politics Today Board
I completely agree Mifskie... I think there are more pressing issues in the world that need to be focused on, aside from the war, environmental issues are something that need attention pronto. Pretty soon, we won't have to worry about who's marrying who- the way the environment is being trashed at such a rapid pace, none of us will even be here!
"Without music, life is a journey through the desert"...
They're supporting laws that allow potential foreign terrorists to have more benefits and privledges than American Born citizens.
Yes it's spin, but not untrue.
Edited 8/4/2004 11:10 am ET ET by go_left
Ya know go left, sometimes I dont know if you are being serious or being funny. But most of the time, I tend to be laughing.....
I can say this:
I'm married. It's also my second marriage. I have 2 children and a very happy life.
While I'm not all wise in the way of things, I think I got love and marriage figured out.
It's the mental and emotional connection you have with your spouse. It becomes so much NOT ABOUT SEX and more about connecting on a mental level and forge a committment to be there for each other, forever.
My wife, is my best friend on the planet and if something happened to her where she was deformed, handicapped or even made to be freakier looking than Michael Jackson, I would love her, want to be with her and never want to be with anyone else because of that mental and emotional attachment and committment.
To me, that's what it's about.
Anyone in this country that lives and works in a large metropolitan area is surrounded by gays and lesbians. You work with them, you're served food by them, your groceries are bagged by them yadda yadda yadda...
You can bet if you're in the Military and in Iraq, a Gay or Lesbian has probably saved your life.
It's a lot more than a piece of paper and status in the country, it's about taking a human being and making them less through judgement.
"And that's all I got to say bout that"
Pages