|
Summarized by Kent Larsen
Analysis: Battles Over Same-Sex Marriage May Continue
(Effects of ban on same-sex marriage unclear in gay-friendly California)
Boston Globe (AP) 8Mar00 N1
By Bob Egelko: Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -- Tuesday's passage of Proposition 22 in
California was hailed by LDS Church leaders and others favoring the
measure designed to keep same-sex marriages out of California while
gay rights activists expressed disappointment at its passage.
However, the proposition's passage may not settle the issue. Some gay
rights activists are already seeking ways to reverse the decision and
conservative activists are seeking ways to use the connections made
during the campaign to roll-back other rights given to homosexuals,
just as gay activists had feared.
The final tally put Proposition 22 passing, winning 61.4% of the
6,778,544 ballots cast on the measure to 38.6% against it. The
proposition was in the majority in all but 4 California counties in
the San Francisco Bay area.
But one group of gay rights activists wants to repeat the vote. The
group is trying to get the more than 670,000 signatures it needs to
put a new measure on the November ballot that would overturn
proposition 22. So far the group has just 100,000 signatures, but now
that proposition 22 has passed, it expects to get more attention and
signatures. To make the ballot, it must have the signatures by
mid-April.
Others question the constitutionality of the measure, and hope that
same-sex marriage is legalized in another state so that proposition
22 can be challenged in court. They maintain that the measure
violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection
because it excludes same-sex marriages while allowing all other
out-of-state marriages. Others believe the law is vulnerable to the
Constitution's requirement that state's give "full faith and credit"
to the laws of other states. However, any court challenge must wait
for same-sex marriages to be legalized elsewhere. The issue is
currently before the Vermont legislature because of a Vermont Supreme
Court ruling.
Meanwhile, conservatives have plans of their own. An organization
called the Campaign for California Families called Tuesday's results
a repudiation of the "homosexual agenda" and claimed that the vote
showed that most Californians oppose giving gays more rights. Some of
the proponents of proposition 22 disagree, saying that their campaign
was careful in distinguishing between protecting marriage and
attacking gays.
And the Rev. Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition says the vote
"put a dent in the big lie of separation of church and
state." He claims that the campaing gave him new allies in fighting
30 "gay bills" in the state legislature, including measures that
expand domestic partner benefits to include medical leave,
inheritance, wrongful-death suits and the right to make funeral
arrangements.
Political analysts are even weighing the comments of LDS Church
President Gordon B. Hinckley, generally interpreting his remarks at
the National Press Club on Wednesday to mean that the LDS Church
won't act on legislation for domestic partner benefits. When asked if
the Church's activities supporting proposition 22 meant that the
Church was taking a more active role in politics, Hinckley said, ''I
don't think it signals a more active political posture'' for the
church. He went on to say, ''We are not anti-gay. We are pro-family.''
|
