Wednesday, November 5, 2008

California Prop 4 and Prop 8 Results

With 94.6% ( 24,073 of 25,423 ) precincts partially
or fully reporting as of Nov. 5, 2008, at 6:43 a.m. the two ballot measures in California are

Proposition 4 - Parent Notification Before Terminating Minor's Pregnancy
Yes 4,566,066 47.6%
No 5,020,847 52.4%

Proposition 8 Marriage Between a Man and a Woman (renamed by Atty General "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry")
Yes 5,163,908 52.1%
No 4,760,336 47.9%

2 comments:

Undergroundpewster said...

Go 8 Go!

Will the California Supremes be able to knock it down? What challenges lay ahead?

Perpetua said...

I think it would be a mistake to challenge the legality of the same-sex marriages that have already occurred.

What we have learned is how important it is to get the state constitutional amendment before the courts get involved. California had a previous state proposition that banned same-sex marriage, and it passed with 61% of the vote in 2000.

Now some will argue that the closer vote this time is due to changing attitudes. But the way the campaign against Prop 8 was waged belies that. Note how the Attorney General changed the title of the proposition after the court ruling to "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry".

When the courts had ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, then the No on 8 campaign could argue that Prop 8 was "taking away their rights". So be sure it never gets to that point in as many states as possible.

States that are vulnerable (i.e., have a state law but not in the consitution) include: Washington, Wyoming, Minnosota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virgina, and North Carolina.