Gay marriage loses in 11 states Tuesday

Eleven states added a referendum to the ballot Tuesday concerning the union of marriage and voters in 11 states decided against allowing same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage is an important issue in California. Costal states are generally more liberal than the middle states, and California is a true testament to that description, with its San Francisco marriages last year.

Opponents of President George W. Bush and his views on gay marriage — that it should not be legal — feel his stance on the issue cost him votes in the election. Conservative supporters of Bush feel his stance will bring him a stronger support base during the coming year from those who believe in the traditional family unit. But his view on marriage is more likely to divide the country on yet another issue. Bush has said that states can do what they want on the issue, and is leaving it up to the states to decide where they stand on same-sex marriage.

Oregon is the only state of the 11 that allowed more than 3,000 same-sex marriages earlier this year before being forced to stop by an Oregon judge. Because of this support for gay marriage, it was predicted that Oregon would allow gay marriage. Yet Oregon also voted against the amendment. This was a surprise to gay rights advocates who felt that Oregon would change the traditional legal marriage. Apparently, many in Oregon feel that an amendment is needed to stop states from legalizing same-sex marriage.

Mississippi, Montana and Oregon's proposed amendments specifically state that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman, but do not refer to civil unions. Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah contain amendments that would ban civil unions also, according to the Associated Press.

In Arkansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio and Oregon, church-backed groups worked to petition the public in order to get the measure on this year's ballot. In other states, legislators placed the ballot measures. The fact that citizens were so concerned that they actually worked to have their legislature included on the ballot shows how important this amendment is to many Americans. They feel that the institution of marriage is being threatened by today's culture and it is up to the citizens to protect their beliefs.

Earlier this year, Louisiana tried to ban not only same-sex marriage, but also civil unions, common-law relationships and domestic partnerships. Luckily, the law was struck down in state court.

North Dakota is also working to abolish the same-sex civil union. Robert Uebel, the Equality North Dakota chairman, was right to believe that people would vote against the amendment.

Uebel feels that many people have been easily swayed on the issue, and are afraid the amendment will also affect the legality of domestic partnerships, according to the Associated Press.

The North Dakota Family Alliance collected 16,405 signatures over what they needed to create a ballot measure. North Dakota effectively banned same-sex marriages on Tuesday.

The American people have overwhelmingly chosen to ban same-sex marriages to the chagrin of rights activists everywhere. The gay and lesbian movement worldwide has taken a strong hit and now all they can do is try to recover.