Word: gays
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...legislate popular morality, Prohibition, is also the only one to be repealed. Drinking is now accepted by a majority of Americans, and judging by statutory initiatives passed in Massachusetts and Michigan on Tuesday, marijuana isn’t too far off. While abortion, stem cells, affirmative action, and gay marriage are currently some of the most controversial issues facing the republic, there is frankly no reason to assume that in 50 years they will be seen as any more important than stormwater control financing...
...handful of other states considered constitutional amendments relevant to current political dialogue. Colorado voted on an amendment that would protect life from the moment of fertilization, as well as one that would ban affirmative action (both failed). California rejected an amendment proposing abortion limits but passed one banning gay marriage. Florida and Arizona, likewise, constitutionally banned gay marriage. Nebraska passed a constitutional ban on affirmative action, and Michigan approved an amendment allowing stem cell research. Arkansas, with a 57 percent majority, made it constitutionally illegal for a gay couple to adopt children. Regardless of your personal beliefs on these issues...
...amendment frenzy can be attributed to overzealousness and a lack of inability to compromise. Laws, historically, have been passed by legislatures, in which each representative answers to his constituents. Recently, however, both liberals and conservatives have forced issues such as gun control and gay marriage into courts in an attempt to bypass the legislative branch. Invariably, this leads the opposing side to counter by creating a constitutional amendment to overrule the judicial branch. Sound legislation based on compromise and accountability gives way to an arms race for legal enforcement. In this environment, positions may win, but the people ultimately lose...
Students and faculty voiced mixed reactions to the passage of California Proposition 8, reflecting on the implications of the gay marriage ban both for themselves and the nation. “Maybe we’re not as liberal as we think,” said Katherine A. Mills ’11, a California resident who said that she voted against the ballot initiative. “I’m just disappointed, but I’m hoping that with an African-American president, our ideals of equality will be stronger and we’ll be able...
...have been a joyous day for liberals, but it wasn't a great day for lesbians and gays. Three big states - Arizona, California and Florida - voted to change their constitutions to define marriage as a heterosexuals-only institution. The losses cut deep on the gay side. Arizona had rejected just such a constitutional amendment only two years ago. It had been the first and only state to have rebuffed a constitutional ban on marriage equality. In Florida, where the law requires constitutional amendments to win by 60%, a marriage amendment passed with disturbing ease...