Gay Marriage Ban Ballot Backlash

CBS Evening News: Californians Who Opposed Proposition 8 Are Outraged Over Its Passage

(CBS)  The passage of Proposition 8 - California's initiative banning same sex marriage - is sparking protests and division across the state, CBS Evening News correspondent John Blackstone reports from San Francisco.

Some voters who joined forces, just last week, to elect the President, now find themselves on opposite sides.

For the third straight day thousands of people marched in California, protesting the election night passage of Proposition 8 - banning same sex marriage.

Crowds continued to target the Mormon church, which poured millions into promoting the same-sex marriage ban and encouraged members to cross state lines to join the campaign. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger - who opposed the bill - says gay rights supporters were outmanned.

"They had a very strong campaign, the pro-proposition 8 people, and I think, they people who tried to defeat it and they did not have as good of a campaign or as much money behind it," Schwarzenegger told CNN's Late Edition.

But the breakdown of who voted for the bill is starting to raise concerns for some in the gay community. Exit polls show that while blacks made up 10 percent of the total vote, 70 percent of African-American voters supported Prop. 8. Whites, Hispanics and Asians were virtually evenly split.

African-Americans are historically more socially conservative and proponents of the ban tapped into that sentiment by seeking out black church leaders for support.

"It's not a civil rights issue, because as African-Americans we can't change the color of our skin," says pastor Edward Smith, who supported the ban on gay marriage.

The fact that African-Americans turned out in record numbers to vote for Barack Obama while overwhelmingly voting yes on Proposition 8 created personal conflict for some.

"I think the basis of my conflict comes from my upbringing in the church," says Jacquelynn Hawthorne, an Obama supporter.

That frustrates some civil rights leaders - they compare the struggle to the 1967 Supreme Court case of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were arrested in Virginia because interracial marriage was illegal in 16 states.

"Once we present this in the right way and we do the education we should do, I'm not worried at all because African-Americans believe in justice," says Alice Huffman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Gay rights advocates say they'll fight all the way to the Supreme Court, meaning protests like these may not end anytime soon.

[gaye5]

Recent studies in many different countries show that the prevalence of homosexuality is less than 3% of the population: In a US study, the prevalence of homosexuality was estimated to be 2.1% of men and 1.5% of women. (Gilman SE. Am J Public Health. 2001; 91: 933-9.) and NOT the 10% that homosexuals tell us..

In places where it is now legal, homosexuals have begun a push to have homosexuality taught in schools to as young as 5.. that just as we teach all aspects of heterosexuals relationships so we must with homosexuality or else they will sue us for discrimination..
I don't buy this, and if we must except homosexuality and teach it then we must teach all aspects of homosexuality like the homosexuals life span is approx only 50 years just as ours is 70 years, that disease like hepatitis, anal cancer, AID's, hepatitis-A,C,B., syphilis, tuberculosis , genital gonorrhea, sexual transmission of typhoid, Amebic liver abscess, C. jejuni jejuni, anorectal herpes, Chlamydia, are is a bedfellow of homosexuals, and that Parasitic intestinal infections are common among homosexuals; which results from the consumption of faecal material via using their tongue around the anus, that many thousands of homosexuals are coming out of homosexuality.. At the moment these are some of the things that the media wont tell us..

[calmfriend-2009]

Check your facts: "Allegations of bigotry or persecution made against the [Mormon] Church were and are simply wrong. The Church%u2019s opposition to same-*** marriage neither constitutes nor condones any kind of hostility toward *** and lesbians. Even more, the Church does not object to rights for same-*** couples regarding hospitalization and medical care, fair housing and employment rights, or probate rights, so long as these do not infringe on the integrity of the traditional family or the constitutional rights of churches.

"Some, however, have mistakenly asserted that churches should not ever be involved in politics when moral issues are involved. In fact, churches and religious organizations are well within their constitutional rights to speak out and be engaged in the many moral and ethical problems facing society." (From http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/church-responds-to-same-***-marriage-votes#continued)

In other words, as Latter-day Saints, most of us would be happy to help find a solution that allows everyone equal rights in society without destroying the traditional family or religious liberty.

The great thing about our country is that we can co-exist if you will climb down of the wall of my place of worship and actually open a sane conversation with me and the rest of the majority of this country who also want to find a solution and still hold fast to the things they personally hold sacred.

We can do it.

[cjlayne]

I covered the San Francisco side of the November 7th Proposition 8 protest, shot on film:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kediwah/sets/72157608874350670/

[cjlayne]

I covered the San Francisco side of the November 7th Proposition 8 protest, shot on film:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kediwah/sets/72157608874350670/

[guysdigdirt]

Mormons find same gender marriages hard to understand.
Posted by caldwellptr

No, they understand same-*** marriages, you just don''t understand Mormons.

[guysdigdirt]

Had the LDS church done this to ANY other minority they would have ASHES where their temple stood.
LDS attack the families and remove the Constitutional Right under equal protection to families of Jews, Baptists, Chinese, Blacks, Latinos, Moslems, Native Americans, Catholics....do that honey
We (LGBTs) will bankrupt your businesses, and TANK the 6 billion dollar Utah tourism industry, and you will shut the HELL up about it, knowing it could have been MUCH WORSE.
Saturday Every State and Every Major city are holding Fight the H8(hate) demonstrations. This anger isn''''t going away.
Posted by underbear1

You poor uneducated loser.

[underbear1]

Had the LDS church done this to ANY other minority they would have ASHES where their temple stood.
LDS attack the families and remove the Constitutional Right under equal protection to families of Jews, Baptists, Chinese, Blacks, Latinos, Moslems, Native Americans, Catholics....do that honey
We (LGBTs) will bankrupt your businesses, and TANK the 6 billion dollar Utah tourism industry, and you will shut the HELL up about it, knowing it could have been MUCH WORSE.
Saturday Every State and Every Major city are holding Fight the H8(hate) demonstrations. This anger isn''t going away.

[mopar1956]

clovernyc
What a bunch of crape saying Mormans are not Christians.

How many churches do you know that uses the lords name in the Title. Besides who are you to say who is Christian or not. The real name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Go spread you lies some where else

[VegasResident]

I think we should institute the civil marriage as a standard accessible to ALL legally competent adults, and that the religious marriage -stripped of any state recognized status- should be a personal choice accessible to church (synagogue, temple, etc...) members according to the rules of their own congregation.

Posted by mumu11 at 08:33 PM : Nov 10, 2008
+ report abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, that is the most intelligent thing I have ever read on this forum.

You want civil benefits, such as inheritance, social security, etc? Get a civil marriage.

You want heavenly benefits? Go to your church and get a religious marriage, like the ol''mormon temple marriage.

[VegasResident]

he same Constitution you keep crowing about also protects the rights of the majority of Americans.

Homosexuals have civil unions that afford them all the rights and benefits of the marital contract.

Marriage on the other hand is a sacred religious institution. The United States Government does not have the right to redefine a religious institution, strike certain portions of a sacred writing by designating them as ''''hate speech'''' or to deny Christians the freedom to practice their faith simply because a small, perverted minority of the population is offended.

Democracy works both ways.

Posted by CLOVERNYC at 10:53 AM : Nov 11, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

that is right!!!!! Marriage by the government is a religioous marriage cause the govt is a Chritian govt and the constitution is only for the majority!!! the h*ll with the minority. Time we take back interracial marriage rights and covil rights!!!!

Idiot...................

[VegasResident]

If I am an xxy chromosome and want to marry a man, can I still do that under Proposition 8?

Posted by tomanyt at 05:58 PM : Nov 11, 2008
+ report abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Only if you can spell

[VegasResident]

Amen Amen AMEN! You hit the nail on the head!

Posted by SocialismSux at 10:08 PM : Nov 11, 2008
+ report abuse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For gods sake stop praying online. have we not told our people to stop doing that so we do not scareaware the converts,

[VegasResident]

There is no such thing as a ''''right'''' to be married.

Posted by CLOVERNYC at 10:54 AM : Nov 11, 2008
+ report abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Correct, there are too many idiot straight people getting married, like Britney Spears.....we need to have a psych exam and a 100 day waiting period and a test with your pastor....dang. We need to get rid of marriage. It ends up in 50% divroce anyway.

[VegasResident]

see the Sodomites are still going at it.

In the end, Morals always prevail over sin. So these sodomites can continue crying until Kingdom come.

Posted by SocialismSux at 10:07 PM : Nov 11, 2008
+ report abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me thinks moral did not prevail...sodom was destroyed with everyone, including the church going righteous...or was that the pharisees that cannot get into heaven cause they were too judgmental...*** I get all them religious zealots mized up.

[VegasResident]

I am not a religious nut but I want no part of Gay Marriage and am dead set against it on the grounds it is bad for children.

Posted by blackyowe at 07:04 PM : Nov 11, 2008
+ report abuse
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YOu are right, all the children will become gay.

[VegasResident]

The United States Government does not have the right to redefine a religious institution, strike certain portions of a sacred writing by designating them as ''''''''hate speech'''''''' or to deny Christians the freedom to practice their faith simply because a small, perverted minority of the population is offended.

Democracy works both ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Correct, church and state should be separate. A church marriage should have nothing to do with the secular marriage available from the state to anyone, including *** or atheists.

[socialismsux]

The United States Government does not have the right to redefine a religious institution, strike certain portions of a sacred writing by designating them as ''''hate speech'''' or to deny Christians the freedom to practice their faith simply because a small, perverted minority of the population is offended.

Democracy works both ways.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by CLOVERNYC at 10:53 AM : Nov 11, 2008

Amen Amen AMEN! You hit the nail on the head!

[socialismsux]

I see the Sodomites are still going at it.

In the end, Morals always prevail over sin. So these sodomites can continue crying until Kingdom come.

[blackyowe]

I am not a religious nut but I want no part of Gay Marriage and am dead set against it on the grounds it is bad for children.

[blackyowe]

I am not a religious nut but I want no part of Gay Marriage and am dead set against it on the grounds it is bad for children.