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Nevada voters undergird marriage; 4 cities affirm same-sex protection


CARSON CITY, Nev. (BP)–Nevada voters made a decisive statement in favor of traditional marriage Nov. 5, passing a constitutional amendment that specifies only a man and a woman’s union will be recognized by this gambling-oriented state.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the final statewide vote was 67-33 percent, a 2-1 margin. This marked the second consecutive election that citizens had approved the ballot initiative, meaning it will now be state law.

A pro-family observer in Washington, D.C., hailed the result, saying it provides encouragement to traditional marriage supporters nationwide.

“With Las Vegas in control of so much of the culture, Nevada might be the last place you’d expect to find a victory for marriage,” said Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute of Concerned Women for America. “It shows that even in a state that has legal prostitution, the institution of marriage still resonates.

“You’ll find that marriage polls higher than any other issue in the whole family values category. It’s a wonder more politicians don’t take advantage of that and come out forthrightly for marriage and family. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the politically smart thing to do.”

Knight also cast Arkansas voters’ rejection of Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson — a Baptist pastor who went through a highly publicized divorce from his wife of 29 years — as a pro-family decision.

“He paid the price at the polls,” Knight said of the incumbent’s 54-46 percent loss to state Atty. Gen. Mark Pryor. “That’s another indication that voters still believe in marriage and in keeping your promises.”

Despite the pro-family victory, homosexual rights forces scored a string of wins Nov. 5, retaining or adding sexual orientation provisions to non-discrimination codes in four cities:

— In Ypsilanti, Mich., voters defeated an attempt to prohibit the city from adopting an ordinance that gives preferential treatment to gays or bisexuals. The vote was 64-36 percent, the second time in four years the suburban Detroit city turned back an attempt to overturn anti-discrimination laws.

— In Sarasota, Fla., voters approved adding a provision to that city’s charter that prohibits discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodations based on gender, sexual orientation or other factors. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported the vote was 10,416 to 3,894, a margin of 73-27 percent.

— Voters in Tacoma, Wash., turned back an attempt to remove gender and sexual orientation from the city’s anti-discrimination law adopted last April. While the Tacoma News Tribune reported the initiative had failed, it did not list any vote totals.

— Westbrook, Maine, voters also rebuffed an attempt to repeal that city’s sexual orientation provision, which was adopted last July as part of its human rights ordinance. A local supporter of the repeal drive conceded defeat the evening of Nov. 5, saying the move failed by 160 votes out of 6,000 cast, a margin of 51-49 percent.

Knight said the mixed election results show that while people strongly support marriage, they tend to support anti-discrimination laws. However, he thinks some voters are slowly becoming aware that “the gay agenda is about more than marriage.”

“As they find their children being confronted with pro-homosexual propaganda in the schools and businesses being confronted by aggressive gay activists, I think they’re realizing these sexual orientation laws are about more than so-called tolerance,” Knight said.

“Right now, they don’t seem to get it –that this is aimed at their freedom. They seem to think it’s a gesture of tolerance towards homosexuals. I think you’ll find that media coverage of these issues is so one-sided that it’s difficult for pro-family forces to make the case, whereas it’s hard to attack marriage itself.”

Noting that the Human Rights Campaign offers financial and other support for local anti-discrimination initiatives across the nation, Knight said it is imperative that grass-roots groups form to support traditional morality.

Pro-family forces are often outspent heavily in these campaigns, he said, noting the more than $1 million homosexuals spent — compared to $50,000 by pro-family groups — to successfully retain Miami-Dade County’s anti-discrimination law in September.

“It shows the homosexual activists are very serious about winning,” Knight said. “They’re more serious than the pro-family people and are willing to put much more, in terms of resources, into these battles.”

Despite the local initiatives, Knight said the election generally showed a pro-family trend. In addition to the Nevada vote, he predicted the House of Representatives will take a more pro-life stance, and the Senate will also be more conservative.

“This bodes well for President [George] Bush’s judicial nominees, who have been stalled by the Tom Daschle-led Democratic Senate,” Knight said. “This should break the logjam.”

Seth Kilbourn, the Human Rights Campaign’s national field director, said in a statement after the Nov. 6 results, “The gay and lesbian community is getting better and better at beating back these attempts to repeal city ordinances that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Americans know that these ordinances are about basic fairness and not special rights. That is why we are winning.”

From a national standpoint, HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch acknowledged in a Nov. 6 news release that Democrats had suffered a “significant defeat” in losing control of the Senate, thus creating a “new, rocky political terrain on Capitol Hill.” She said HRC “will continue to build a muscled electoral infrastructure to deliver not just our [Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender] voter base, but swing voters who tend to support our issues.”
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  • Ken Walker