Prop. 8 to ban same-sex marriage, voters approve

by Sanjay Jha | November 5, 2008 at 09:25 am

1699 views | 37 Recommendations | 12 comments

As US Election results have started coming in and Democrat Senator Barack Obama has emerged as clear winner of the Presidency, The vote on the same sex marriage amendment, Proposition 8, in California has got voters' approval. Proposition 8, the measure to ban gay marriage in California, was leading with nearly 52 percent of the vote early Wednesday.

Both winner Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain have opposed same-sex marriage. Obama had also opposed the California amendment and endorses the concept of broader rights for same-sex couples.

Proposition 8 is perhaps the most fiercely discussed election issue in California, Florida and Arizona. Proposition 8 would amend the California Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Exit poll data showed that Democrats and independents were tending to vote against Proposition 8, while Republicans were in favor of the measure.

After a heated, divisive campaign, fueled by a record $73 million of spending, California voters Tuesday were backing Prop. 8, which would change the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

With 11 percent of the vote counted, the measure held a 55 percent to 45 percent lead.
Six months after the California Supreme Court cleared the way for gay and lesbian couples to wed legally, the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who took advantage of the landmark decision now are wondering if they will be the last.

The campaign pitted those who argued that a same-sex marriage ban was nothing more than outdated discrimination against gays and lesbians, and conservatives and Christian groups who countered that the state and the courts have no right to change unilaterally a definition of marriage that has existed for centuries.

The flood of dollars that poured into California from every part of the country made Prop. 8 the most expensive social issue race the nation has ever seen. And behind every one of those checks was someone desperately worried about what the result of the election could mean to them and their state.

To San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other opponents of Prop. 8, as well as to religious groups that backed the measure, the proposed ban on same-sex marriage was the second most important election in the country on Tuesday.

The Prop. 8 battle, born in San Francisco, came eight years after more than 61 percent of California voters came out in favor of Prop. 22, which banned same-sex marriage in the state. But supporters had little time to savor the victory.

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smsass

at 23:30 on November 4th, 2008

Our friend Rob asked Kathryn and me if we would join him on Sunday, November 1, 2008, in supporting other residents of Dublin, California, who were campaigning on street corners against Proposition 8. We smiled at passing cars all afternoon to let them know that we were content in our decision to condemn the discrimination in this proposition.

smsass has contributed a photo to this story.

jmsam

at 00:39 on November 5th, 2008

At the intersection of Greenback Lane and Sunrise Blvd, in Citrus Heights, CA, hundreds of people gathered in the rain during the finals days leading up to November 4th. During this demonstration that lasted well into the night, people voiced their opinions buy chanting, making signs and cruising up and down the streets honking their horns in support or opposition to Proposition 8.

jmsam has contributed a photo to this story.

christeldeleon

at 08:41 on November 5th, 2008

It is the most controversial proposition in this election. I believe prop. 8 has urged most Americans to go out and vote to show their support, opposing it or supporting it. Along El Camino Real in South San Francisco, people were out in the streets raising their voices promoting their campaign.

It is now post election day, ballots on this proposition are still being counted. But no matter where you stand regarding this matter, we should always remember to respect everyones rights and opinion.

P.S. - Thanks Yuliya, for inviting me to include my photo.

Tina Kells

at 08:27 on November 5th, 2008

That is incredibly ironic. The first president with African-American lineage is elected in the US showing real progress in the country's battle against racism, and then voters in CA choose to exercise bigotry against homosexuals by excluding them from being married. I am shaking my head at this sad dichotomy.

don.reid

at 08:31 on November 5th, 2008

After watching the news from the weekend, I expected much worse. The support we seemed to get was a pleasant surprise. Of course we got the drive by yelling and a booooo from an older woman...but she actually called her daughter to have her come down to apologize to us as she had figured out later that she had us confused with the yes on 8 side and felt bad!

Seems that the confusing language of the bill and the amount of money spent by churches did it's trick. Is it just me or does the idea of tax free church money seem unfair to be able to spend on political propaganda?

don.reid has contributed a photo to this story.

eastvanray

at 11:59 on November 5th, 2008

Since Obama is against gay mairrage it is not an inconsistent position for the American electorate. At least we know a little bit about the American hierarchy of hatred....blacks are less hated than gays.

bexleygirl

at 12:52 on November 5th, 2008

Perhaps the take-home message from this experience is that people are afraid of not being in control of what their children learn. So many of the later ads in favor of Proposition 8 emphasized that gay marriage would be taught to school children as an acceptable lifestyle.

The signage carried by proponents also touted opposition to prop 8 as being in favor of free speech. That boggles my mind. As far as I understood, no rights of religious groups would be infringed if the amendment to the state constitution remained in place. Has it happened so far?

Whether one agrees with the morality of same-sex marriage or not, the world has seen that "separate but equal" is only a theory and has yet to be actualized. The legal rights of two people who choose to honor and respect each other in a committed relationship should be the same no matter what with regards to health care benefits, insurance contracts, etc. The opportunity to declare a relationship between people as such should also be universal.

I hope the solution to this disparity comes soon.

eastvanray

at 13:02 on November 5th, 2008

Or Californians can take a short plane flight up here to Vancouver where we are happy to take your tourism dollars in exchange for marrying your gay couples.

Merci (not verified)

at 13:14 on November 5th, 2008

Ok - so does anyone here know exactly the purpose for opposing this prop?

These couples already possess many rights that married couples do (look under family code in california constitution), so are same sex couples looking to force people to marry them if it is against their religious beliefs? Do they intend to take them to court and sue? Isn't that causing more trouble if anything? Doesn't that silence another group of people and take away their religious freedom and speech? I don't get the double standard here! Just the reaction (vandalism and violence) to the "yes" group makes me question the "sincere" motives of the "no" group. All this just to be labeled "married"? Since when did that become so important to people? please spare me the pity and the comparison to the civil rights movement. Exactly what kind of democracy is everyone fighting for when four judges feel like they have a right to overturn voters decisions at a whim. If we really care about "rights" then you would fight for ALL rights not just the ones you agree with. Let them keep their divine covenant already.

darling_nikki

at 19:39 on November 5th, 2008

father and son protesting proposition 8. ironically in front of the catholic radio station billboard.

darling_nikki has contributed a photo to this story.

Blue (not verified)

at 15:34 on November 6th, 2008

Other than abortion, same sex marriage is the next most controversial issue in the united states of America. People are asking the question, should same sex couples be allowed to marry? With the high divorce rate, I sometimes ask myself whether straight couples should be allowed to marry

I might not necessary understand how same sex couples feels about marriage, however, a long time ago, I promised myself to never align myself with any law that denies certain group of people the same rights that other groups enjoy. We need to turn fear into courage. In the past people have used fear to deny others certain rights. Let's not forget desegregation and the whole civil rights movement

For me , it is not whether same sex couples should be allowed to marry or not. It is, if straight couples can marry then same sex couples should also be able to. If same sex couples can't marry, then neither should straight couples