Ballot measures on same-sex marriage approved in 11 states

Published: 2004-11-03

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Voters approved measures defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman in all 11 states where the issue was on the ballot Nov. 2, but rejected Catholics leaders' positions against embryonic stem-cell research funding in California and efforts to tighten the use of government benefits by immigrants in Arizona. In Florida, a church-backed proposal to require parental notification before a minor's abortion was approved by 65 percent of the voters, but a ballot question on expanding gambling in Miami-Dade and Broward counties -- opposed by Catholic leaders -- was considered too close to call early Nov. 3. Voters in California, which led the nation with 16 of the nation's 162 initiatives in the 2004 elections, also turned down a proposal to limit the state's "three strikes" law to certain violent and/or serious felonies, which the California Catholic Conference had supported. In Maine, a proposal to cap property taxes was soundly defeated by voters, with 37 percent in favor and 63 percent against. Bishop Richard J. Malone of Portland had taken no position on the ballot measure, but reminded Catholics that "to place our own selfish interest above the needs of those less fortunate violates justice."

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