Faith and morality played major roles as American voters re-elected President
George Bush, expanded the Republican Partys advantage in Congress and
approved amendments to protect marriage in 11 states
Faith and morality played major roles as American voters re-elected President
George Bush, expanded the Republican Partys advantage in Congress and
approved amendments to protect marriage in 11 states.
Nationwide exit polling by the National Election Pool indicated 22 percent
of voters cited “moral values” as the most important issue in their
decision on the presidential race. Of those, 79 percent chose Bush, 18 percent
selected Democratic candidate John Kerry and 2 percent opted for independent
candidate Ralph Nader. The morality issue was the top issue, surpassing the
economy (20 percent), terrorism (19 percent) and Iraq (15 percent).
According to that same data, 22 percent of voters were identified as white,
evangelical/born-again Christians. Of those, 77 percent voted for Bush, 22 percent
for Kerry and 1 percent for Nader.
“The faith factor was the difference in this election,” said Richard
Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
“Even The New York Times acknowledged the faith factor was determinative.”
Not only did more than three-fourths of evangelicals vote for Bush, but a whole
lot more of them voted than in 2000, Land said. He and the commission had led
an effort prior to the election to encourage persons to register to vote and,
then, to vote their values.
“I want to take a moment to thank all the Southern Baptists and others
who supported the iVoteValues campaign and who voted their values, beliefs and
convictions and who encouraged others to vote their values, beliefs and convictions,”
Land said.
As a result of that voting:
Supporters of a marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution are
claiming momentum as a result of Senate outcomes that left them with a net gain
of four votes. Thanks to retirements by amendment foes and victories by amendment
supporters, the Marriage Protection Amendment figures to be one of the winners
from an election that saw the Republicans pad their majority status.
Amendment supporters received good news in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Louisiana and South Dakota – states that had senators who voted against
the marriage amendment this summer. In all five states, amendment supporters
won. Amendment supporters lost a vote in Illinois, resulting in a net gain of
four votes.
Many leaders assert that a federal amendment is the only sure way to protect
the traditional definition of marriage. Although state amendments tie the hands
of state court judges, they can be overturned in federal court. A federal amendment
would define marriage as only between a man and a woman and would ban same-sex
marriages.
Such a measure – the Marriage Protection Amendment – was debated
in the Senate this summer but failed to get even a simple majority in a procedural
vote. It needs a two-thirds vote (67 votes) to pass.
The same-sex marriage movement suffered a serious setback this
month when voters in 11 states passed constitutional marriage amendments with
an average of 70.1 percent of the vote. The amendments vary in terms of their
strength – some ban Vermont-type civil unions, while some do not. However,
all of them ban the recognition of same-sex marriage. The margin of victory
spanned from 56 percent to 44 percent in Oregon to 86 percent to 14 percent
in Mississippi. All but two of the amendments passed with the support of 60
percent or more of voters.
More than a third of all states now have amendments protecting the traditional
definition of marriage. In addition to Oregon and Mississippi, voters in Arkansas,
Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah
passed such amendments on Nov. 2.
The amendments are seen largely as a backlash against events of recent months.
In May, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage,
thanks to a ruling by its high court. The amendments tie the hands of state
courts, preventing a Massachusetts-type ruling. But they can be overturned in
federal court, and pro-family leaders are quick to note that a marriage amendment
to the U.S. Constitution still is needed. Indeed, Nebraskas marriage amendment
already is being challenged in federal court.
About 59 percent of Californians approved a $3 billion bond measure
to become the first state to fund embryonic stem cell research and biomedical
cloning. With passage of Proposition 71, California will sell $300 million in
municipal bonds each year for 10 years; the payback cost to taxpayers over 30
years is projected to be $6 billion.
Stem cells are master cells that can be reproduced into other cell types. Researchers
say they hold promise for treating a variety of illnesses, from diabetes to
Alzheimers. They can be harvested from adult or embryonic sources. In
embryonic stem cell research, days-old fetuses are destroyed after their stem
cells are utilized. Embryonic stem cell research is opposed by pro-life groups.
Pro-gambling forces went down to defeat in at least four states,
which a longtime opponent called a possible “tipping point” in the
fight against gambling.
Gambling proponents now have lost ballot proposals in at least five states
this year and won only two, said Tom Grey, executive director of the National
Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. That follows turning back 43 of 46 attempts
to expand gambling in 2003, he said.
“These results indicate there is a backlash of Enough is enough,”
Grey said. “(Gambling interests) havent been able to deliver on their
promises. They cant say, Weve gambled ourselves rich in California,
so lets add more.”
On Tuesday, voters in California, Nebraska and Washington turned down attempts
to establish casinos or slot machine parlors, install slots at betting facilities
or expand gambling options. Michigan residents approved a constitutional amendment
that requires voter approval of any proposed gambling expansion in the future.
The only pro-gambling results came in Oklahoma and Florida. In Oklahoma, voters
adopted a lottery by a 65 percent to 35 percent margin. In Florida, 50.6 percent
of voters approved a measure that allows Broward and Miami-Dade counties to
hold a future referendum on whether to permit slot machines at racetracks and
Jai Alai venues.
Marijuana initiatives failed in two of the three states where they
were on the ballot. Alaskans voted against decriminalizing the substance, and
voters in Oregon opted not to expand the states medical marijuana laws.
However, Montana became the 10th state to approve medical marijuana. Medical
marijuana is legal in 10 states – Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine,
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Vermont.
Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment to permit the
state legislature to enact a requirement for parents to be notified before minors
have abortions. Now, pro-lifers must focus on the legislature in 2005 to ensure
a good measure is enacted, pro-life advocates say. Florida voters approved the
parental notification amendment by a wide margin – 64.7 to 35.3 percent.
Adoption of the amendment may reverse 16 years of frustration during which time
one parental consent bill was vetoed by a former governor and two parental notice
bills were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.