Word: referendum
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Democrats sponsored their final phone bank yesterday evening in Adams House, with about fifteen volunteers rallying support in the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia as well as the special congressional election in New York and the gay marriage referendum in Maine...
...That is exactly the message the poster's creators intend to convey. The image that has unsettled many of Switzerland's 310,000 Muslims is part of a campaign by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) to urge voters to approve a Nov. 29 referendum on whether to ban the construction of new minarets on mosques in the country. The party contends that more minarets - only four mosques currently have them - could inflame extremism and lead to a "rampant Islamization" of the country. (See pictures of Islam's revolution...
...issue, which has divided Switzerland, comes amid concerns over a rising anti-Muslim xenophobia in Europe and heated debate in countries such as France and Italy over the banning of other Muslim symbols like the burqa. In Switzerland, though, it's not just the referendum that has angered Muslims but also the SVP's minaret poster itself, which many opponents say incites hatred and violates the country's antiracism law. Several towns have outlawed the posters in public spaces, while other cities, like Geneva, have allowed them to be posted as a right of free expression...
...elections, the party caused an uproar by creating a poster showing three white sheep kicking a lone black one from their flock to rally support behind a proposal to deport foreigners who have repeatedly been convicted of violent crimes. The initiative has not yet been voted on in a referendum, but the party scored a major victory in the elections that year, winning 29% of the vote. (Read "Who Decides Who Is Swiss...
...Many Swiss political parties, churches and human-rights groups are lining up against the referendum, insisting the constitutional freedom of religion must be upheld. A majority of Swiss people are also against the proposal, with 53% saying they would vote against it in a survey conducted by the gfs.berne Polling and Research Institute in late October...