[R-G] Voters Pick Obama But Local Progressive Agendas Flop

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

<http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gq-uzE3ndY-TCtGL-AE3n4eKhfWQ>
Voters pick Obama but local progressive agendas flop

6 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Despite a landslide for Democrats in the White
House race, Americans voted more conservatively on Tuesday in a myriad
of referendums on banning gay marriage and abortion.

Voters in some states rejected gay marriage rights and affirmative
action and approved restrictions on adoption for unmarried couples.

However, results were mixed as other referenda across the country --
some 35 states were asked to consider 153 ballot questions -- showed
voters in favor of assisted suicide and against outright bans on
abortion.

In California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas, voters rejected gay marriage.

In Arkansas, they voted to prevent anyone who isn't married from
adopting a child. The decision was decried by gay rights supporters
who said it would limit their ability to adopt children.

But voters rejected a near-total ban on abortion in South Dakota and
Colorado and allowed assisted suicide in Washington state, making it
the second US state after Oregon to allow the procedure for terminally
ill people.

Jennie Drage-Bower, senior election analyst with the National
Conference of State Legislators, said abortion limits do not have a
strong history.

"Restriction on abortion has been on the ballot 23 times since 1980
and only five of those have been approved by voters," she said. "So
that's not really an issue that voters historically have been
receptive to on the ballot."

In another politically charged issue, voters in five states were asked
to rule on affirmative action, or targeted policies that aim to
increase employment and education for minorities.

In Nebraska the programs, which are often slammed by critics as
showing unfair racial preferences, were rejected 58 percent to 42
percent. In Colorado, the result was still too close to call
Wednesday.

California's gay marriage ban passed with 52.1 percent to 47.9 percent against.

Known as "Proposition 8," the proposal was trumpeted by conservative
groups as the people's way of overturning the state Supreme Court's
ruling in May that legalized gay marriage.

Local media reported that a lesbian couple, who previously won the
right to marry with the Supreme Court ruling, were to file a new suit
to stop the referendum from coming into effect.

The vote leaves thousands of same-sex couples who tied the knot in the
ensuing months, including some celebrities including comedian Ellen
DeGeneres who wed her long-time girlfriend Portia de Rossi in August.

Japanese-American actor George Takei, who played Mr. Sulu in the
long-running series "Star Trek", and who married his longtime partner
Brad Altman in September, said his marriage would stay remain valid no
matter what.

"There's nothing in the language of Proposition 8 that says it's
retroactive, so our marriage is going to be valid," he told a local TV
channel.

Takei and Altman were the first couple to receive a marriage license
in West Hollywood when California began issuing them to gay couples on
June 17.

Arizona and Florida also passed similar referenda by large margins
Tuesday, stating that marriage was the legal union between a man and a
woman.

Drage-Bower said the results were no surprise as same-sex marriage is
generally unpopular.

In the 30 statewide votes on the issue since 1998, "only one state
(Arizona) has ever voted against a ban and every other proposed ban on
same-sex marriage has been approved by voters," she said.

"This is one of those measures that are really guaranteed to pass."

Neil Giuliano, president of the gay rights group GLAAD, said he was
saddened by the vote.

"We are disappointed and disheartened by results in Arkansas, Arizona
and Florida, where we saw laws passed that are intended to hurt
loving, committed couples and families," he said.