Texans approve gay marriage ban
 

Can't say that I'm shocked, but I am incredibly disgusted, especially that early returns showed 74% supporting the amendment. :( :distress:

We actually received a recorded message from Gov. Perry yesterday, urging us to vote for this ban. D*CK!

My biggest fear (and the fear of most Texans opposed to this amendment) is that employers (esp. government employers) will start denying domestic partner benefits and that any contracts (living wills, etc.) will be considered void, because the language of the amendment is so vague, stating that "anything resembling or identical to marriage" won't be recognized.
--------------------------------
http://www.khou.com/news/local/polit....3fb98f7e.html

Texans approve gay marriage ban

08:22 PM CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Dallas Morning News

With a measure to outlaw gay marriage passing easily, Texas on Tuesday became the 19th U.S. state to make the ban part of its constitution.

The area’s other attention-generating issue, a city of Dallas proposition to strengthen the mayor’s powers, was failing by the narrowest of margins. With 26,584 votes counted, the difference was less than 300 votes.

Both measures appeared to be fueling strong voter turnout, according to officials in the Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant county elections offices. Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said somewhere around 16 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Statewide turnout was expected to exceed the 12.2 percent recorded in 2003.

Known as Proposition 2, the Texas constitutional amendment defines marriage as between a man and a woman and bars the state and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage."

In early returns, 74 percent of voters statewide said they supported the gay-marriage ban, while 26 were opposed. In Dallas County, the margin was a bit narrower, with 69 percent in favor, and 31 percent opposed.

The state's 2003 Defense of Marriage Act already prohibits marriage between same-sex couples. But Prop 2’s supporters, including conservative state legislators and Christian leaders, insisted that Texans must amend their state constitution to ban gay marriage so that "activist" judges can't challenge and overturn anti-gay marriage laws as some courts have in other states.

Opponents have said that the amendment’s ambiguous wording would jeopardize gay couples' partnership benefits and legal arrangements on everything from property issues to end-of-life questions.

If Dallas’ Proposition 1 passes, the mayor would hire and fire the city manager and craft the budget with the manager. The mayor's salary would double to $120,000. And the council would have the authority to fire the manager with a simple majority and hire a budget oversight officer to balance the mayor's fiscal power.

In May, Dallas voters rejected a proposal to give even more power to the mayor. Council members promised voters that they would offer an alternative proposal, which became Prop 1, as an enticement to get them to turn down the May ballot initiative. Since then, about half of the council has mobilized to defeat this referendum as well.

Even Mayor Laura Miller, who says she supports the measure, hasn’t gone out of her way to rally on its behalf.

Dallas voters did appear to be supporting Proposition 14, a measure that would allow the city to sell $23.8 million in bonds to build a new homeless assistance center. The city wants to build the shelter on the southeastern edge of downtown.

In Tarrant County, the hottest issue is in White Settlement, where voters were strongly opposed to changing the city's 19th century name to West Settlement. In early voting, 94 percent were against the change.

Across North Texas, voters also were going to the polls to decide on bond issues and charter amendments as well as choose city council members and school board trustees. Voters across Texas were deciding eight other constitutional amendments in addition to the gay-marriage issue.

It's sad. :distress:

But I can't say I'm surprised either.

I'm not shocked to the least bit..it was more shocking when many more states that were not so predictable as Texas did the very same thing last yr

Chris

About the percentages I would have anticipated for a place like Texass.

Well, you can't say it passed because of me. :)

I'm sure it failed in Travis County, which is a small comfort to me. I really need to start making plans to leave the state, though (and possibly the country :lol: ).

Good. Gays should be banned from the earth to live in the depths of hell for all eternity. Sodomy lovers.

No way. Get out! I don't believe it. A liberal state like that voted to ban gay marriage? Next you'll tell me that Pat Robertson doesn't like Bill Clinton, silly.

:laugh:

Like I said, I'm not at all surprised. But it makes me miss Chicago all the more. The culture shock of moving here has been too much for me to bear. :(

Yeah, get out if you can... although I've heard Austin is a cool place. As for the ban... i have no plans to ever live, visit or travel through Texas... let them have their right-wing, backwards hate-state... i'll stick to the places where i'm wanted or at least tolerated.

I wish Travis County could just secede from the rest of the state. That would solve everything. :laugh:

Me neither! :)

I'm very sure it passed overwhelmingly here in Collin County. A year ago, I was ready to pack up and leave the country. But at least I lived in a Blue state... now I'm here because of my husband's work instead. I'm still keeping the moving out of the country option open, though, if things don't turn around. ;) Fortunately, it looks like other elections are turning out much better -- VA and NJ ! So maybe SOME things are turning around for the better! :)

I was just thinking I probably wouldn't cry if all of Texas seceded. Except for the ledgies.

Me too
 

I just let the answering machine get it because I was like "999-999-9999, who the hell's number is that?" LOL Then, I picked it up and hung it up.

I'm a Texan...I didn't vote, I've never voted for anything in my life. Don't judge me! :mad:

:laugh:

Anyways....the White Settlement thing is so wierd. I live like 5 miles away from White Settlement and my dad works in WS. I don't see why anyone would think about it, it's just a name.

:( :( :( :( :(

But maybe there's a loving God • • And that may be a foolish thought • Or maybe there is a God • And I have never prayed a lot • But maybe there's a loving God

You are either making fun of me!

Or you like Sara Groves too.

The problem with Texas doesn't lie with the voters, it's with the redistricting. If you can get that mess straightened out, you can start to have some semblance of balance there again. Until then, you're pretty much f*cked like Florida.:o :sorry:

it's sad, but very true

in the words of Stevie Nicks

I've never had to stand in line to vote as long as I did today...of course, I voted against the amendment...as well as over 60% of the voters in MY county (Travis), where Austin is...and remember, we also elected Kerry.

Austin: We're NOT Texas :thumbsup:

Not surprising...
 

Sounds identical to Oklahoma this past November.



Only good news I saw this day was those cross bearing, homophobic, Topeka Kansas Westboro (sic) Baptist Church ass-poptarts get hammered at a local funeral for a fallen Oklahoma soldier.

They bragged their whole congregation would appear, yet only 3 members showed and left after 25 minutes....The 200+ bikers & hundreds of Oklahomans let this disturbed bible-humpers know that **** doesnt fly here.

Now their congregation is headed to Seattle to protest at some type of gay pride parade...Hammer their ass Seattle, hammer the living f**k out 'em.

No offense...but I found Chicago very racist. Now keep in mind I was born and raised in San Fran, so Chicago was culture shock for me. Glad I moved away...rather quickly at that.

As for Texas and this ban. No big surprise.

For real?! :shocked: They won't be welcome here at all, that's for sure... i DARE them to protest in my neighborhood. :lol: Holy ****... it would be hilaaaaaarious... they'd need a police escort to get out alive. Seriously.

Yes, for real...
 

They are heading to Seattle, Which is going to be entertaining to say the least...

I hope to see those Westboro Bastards get their just (And long overdue) desert in Seattle.

Thanks for the heads-up... i'll let you know what happens.

Has anyone actually read the amendment?

Article I, Texas Constitution, (The Bill of Rights) is amended by adding Section 32 to read as follows:

(a) MARRIAGE in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.

(b) THIS STATE or a political subdivision of THIS STATE MAY NOT CREATE OR RECOGNIZE ANY LEGAL STATUS IDENTICAL or similar to MARRIAGE.

:lol: The idiots should have added "except as defined in (a)" to (b).

That was part of the controversy - and the strong campaign by Democrats to convince people to vote AGAINST it...that wording implies that ANY sort of marriage, even one involving one man and one woman would be illegal. It was even more confusing on the ballot...

And did you know there's no basement in the Alamo? :D

We had a KKK rally here over the weekend, they were supporting the amendment, obviously - there are members of the media now suing the City of Austin for the cops forcing them to keep their distance from the sheet-heads.

Eh, no big surprise. Let the discriminations continue to build... it'll just make the inevitable uprising an even bigger vindication. :)

As a gay man, I voted. Everyone that is close to me voted. But this didn't come as a surprise to anyone. :sorry:


rbs

ahhhh christianity and politics at it's finest...

while other hostile nations are plotting to attack the free world, we spend millions of dollars and energies worrying about who marries who...

Jesus loves you as long as you're not gay, black, or democrat.

Well he loves gays and blacks...


but democrats...IDK?! ;) :xoxo: :lol:

Well, Jesus was a long-haired hippie liberal. ;)

Different than the moonbat liberals of America! :laugh: :xoxo:

:laugh: You wish! He's our man.

The way to combat bigotry is to argue the other side. For example, a white supremacist, as an exercise, arguing why blacks are their equal. The problem is I don't think they would willingly do this.

Ken, get 'em in Seattle! That organization is horrible.

Well, if Bush manages to nominate another Supreme Court justice, that might not happen for another 30-40 years. And if the Republicans manage to push through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it won't ever happen...:distress:

I just hope John Paul Stevens lives another 3 years.

If we get a progressive cable channel that would help get information out there. I hope that happens very soon.

There's been quotes all over the papers down here from legal professors, etc., picking apart this language. (b) can be interpreted in ways that would nullify ALL marriages, IMO, and the opinion of many in the legal profession who have tried to interpret this language. Many of them say the language does more damage than the bans that have been passed in other states.

I read one of the best letters to the editor in the Dallas Morning News last week, regarding the KKK rally. The writer said "I hope that everyone voting for the amendment will join the KKK, and they can all get a good look at each other."

My son has this CD. He left it in my car. I was on a long road and listened to it last week. This song caught my attention. These lyrics, I thought, were appropriate for this post.

I wasn't making fun of you and, yeah, I do kind of like her....

Yep. With all the problems in this country, making this a priority just shows what a f*cked up country we've become. As Jon Stewart said after last November's elections: "This is all because people are afraid of 2 dudes kissing!"

My boss (who used to be the Travis County Democrats' Chairman) just referred to Austin as the "island of sanity." I like that!