We voted NOT to amend our state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman!
I voted No to this (in my opinion hateful) proposition with a dark cloud over my head, thinking for sure that my traditionally conservative state would overwhelmingly approve it, but it looks like we knocked it down, 51%-49%!
I don’t like that we kept Jon Kyl, Rick Renzi, and voted to make English our official language, but those defeats were less surprising than the shocking gay marriage victory. We are, as far as I know, the first state that this amendment has come up in to strike it down (please correct me if I’m wrong - did this ever come up in MA?)
Congratulations. I have already cursed the evil creeps in my own state who not only voted for bigotry but lied to pollsters about it. It looks like it’ll be closer than initially reported but as of right now fucking Virginia is passing it by a smaller percentage. It’s a sad fucking day when Virginia voters are more progressive than Wisconsin on civil liberties.
MA voters never had the opportunity to vote on SSM. Amendments were proposed in the first couple of sessions after the court ruling but through a combination of political moves never passed enough times to go to the voters.
I’m not suprised that this backward ass state that I live in (been here 8 years but still don’t consider it “my state”), voted to ammend the constitution to make marriage 1 man, 1 woman.
There was another initiative to give the same rights to same sex couples that married couples enjoy, but just call it something else. That got shot down. I hate people.
Arizona shot down the measure, right? Good for you!
What I sort of wish is that gays would vote with their feet, and move to states that actually respect them and want to give them the rights they deserve. Or at least move away from states that pass constitutional amendments to prevent them getting rights. I have a feeling that an exodus would actually hurt those states, and help the states that respect rights.
Yes, it’s too much to ask for so many thousands of people to pick up and move, but it’s a nice little daydream.
Amazing. For some reason I could never picture AZ voting down a proposition like that, but kudos to them for it and congratulations. That’s a hell of a narrow margin, but majority rules and that’s all that matters. Being the first state to shoot it down may – just may – set the kind of precedent that states who might otherwise have been on the fence needed to swing it the right way.
I actually thought WI might go against the ammendment, esp with the “no civil unions, and nothing for unmarried people either” clause.
On the death penalty ammendment, it is interesting to note that according to the guy I heard on the radio, WI has the longest continuous ban on the death penaly of any jurisdiction in the world. (MI had a treason exemption. RI passed thier ban a few months earlier than WI, but then later removed it)
I think **Cheesesteak ** might be thinking along the lines that many gays, especially those that could pick up and move are skill professionals with a lot of disposable income. Your point is of course, also valid.
If you believe in the economic recovery cycle for older cities that the artists move in, then the Gays with cash move in, this leads to Yuppies moving in, and gentrification is achieved without much government help or taxpayer handouts.
This theory is a good reason to deprive some states of the presence of the gay community and reward those states that respect their rights.
Congratulations. Maybe I should move to your state.
You know, my state (Virginia) is very conservative. But as of late, it’s felt more like a swing state. And from the reactions I was getting when handing out “Vote no” literature at the polls yesterday morning, I thought the amendment would be either voted down or at least really close. Yet, it’s not. And I’m ashamed of my state.
I wasn’t too surprised that if passed. I think you’ll find that Virginia is fairly divided on regional lines. Northern VA, Richmond, and to a much lesser extent, Hampton Roads tend to be a bit more liberal than the rest of the state.
Overall, I think that Virginia is fairly conservative and that Virginia Democrats do reflect this.
I’m sure a lot of racists in the South (many years ago) would have been thrilled to have blacks move North. Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have killed their economy.
There are industries where gays are heavily represented, if there was a coordinated, nationwide, push for gays to stay out of “anti” states, those industries (and their customers) would suffer. Even outside those industries, when you have people leaving, it’s a drain on your economy. While someone might move to make his own marriage valid, I doubt many will move because someone else’s marriage is valid. Workers, taxpayers, and skills leave the state, but there’s no similar set of people moving back in.
"I would love to see some really inspired activism around gay marriage. We should really hit them where they live. Let’s make all the wedding planners go on strike. ‘If I can’t get married, YOU CAN’T GET MARRIED! Go ahead. TRY to do your own makeup! Aw, boo hoo, who needs a floral arrangement now?!’ " - Margaret Cho
[QUOTE=N9IWP]
On the death penalty ammendment, it is interesting to note that according to the guy I heard on the radio, WI has the longest continuous ban on the death penaly of any jurisdiction in the world. (MI had a treason exemption. RI passed thier ban a few months earlier than WI, but then later removed it)/QUOTE]
What was the death penalty amendment? I hadn’t heard anything about it?
Why good show, Arizona, at least one out of two ain’t bad. Good for standing up for the idea that marriage regulations are a matter for the Civil Code and not for the Constitution (never understood that…).
OTOH, **DAMN ** that was a *LOT * of states where the amendment was passed that included banning any sort of Civil Union, Domestic Partnership or any measure giving rights to couples other than husband-and-wife. Oh, well… history will take care of them, I guess…
