The marijuana reform movement won two prized victories Tuesday, with Massachusetts voters decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the drug and Michigan joining 12 other states in allowing use of pot for medical purposes. Key ballot measures elsewhere addressed same-sex marriage and abortion.
Of the 153 measures at stake nationwide, the most momentous was a proposed constitutional amendment in California that would limit marriage to heterosexual couples.
Similar measures have prevailed previously in 27 states, but none were in California’s situation – with thousands of gay couples already married following a state Supreme Court ruling in May.
The opposing sides together raised about $70 million, much of it from out of state, to wage their campaigns. The outcome, either way, will have a huge impact on prospects for spreading same-sex marriage to the 47 states that do not allow it.
Though Democrat Barack Obama won the presidential race in California on his way to wrapping up his White House bid, the vote on the same-sex marriage amendment was expected to be close. A crucial question was how churchgoing black and Hispanic voters – presumably a pro-Obama constituency – would vote on the ballot measure.
According to exit polls, blacks were far more likely than whites or Hispanics to support the ban. Age also was a key factor – the exit polls showed voters under 30 opposing the ban by a 2-to-1 ratio, while most voters 60 and older supported the ban.
Both Obama and his Republican rival, John McCain, say they oppose same-sex marriage. But Obama, unlike McCain, also opposes the California amendment and endorses the concept of broader rights for same-sex couples.
Ban-gay-marriage amendments also were on the ballot in Florida and Arizona. Under Florida law, the measure there needed 60 percent support to be enacted – partial returns showed it to be around that threshold.
Arkansas had a measure that would prohibit unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents. Conservatives supporting the measure say it’s aimed at same-sex couples, who are able to adopt and be foster parents in most states.
South Dakota’s ballot included an initiative that would ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother. A tougher law without the rape and incest exceptions was defeated in 2006.
If it passed, it would likely trigger a legal challenge which could lead to the U.S. Supreme Court and a reconsideration of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion.
Colorado had a proposed amendment that would define human life as beginning at conception. It doesn’t explicitly mention abortion, but activists on both sides in the campaign view it as a direct challenge to abortion rights.
Two other measures also have drawn the interest of the rival sides in the abortion debate – a California proposition that would require parental notification for a minor’s abortion and a Michigan initiative that would loosen restrictions on stem cell research.
Gambling was on the ballot in several states. Arkansas voters approved a measure creating a statewide lottery, overturning a ban dating back to 1874.
In South Dakota, voters defeated a proposal to eliminate legislative term limits, preserving a law which limits a lawmaker to eight consecutive years of service in one house of the Legislature.
