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America says no to gay marriage
03/11/2004 10:09 - (SA)
Los Angeles - Americans on Tuesday decided a raft of weighty ballot issues ranging from electing their president, to legalising pot, to scrapping a ban on bartenders serving spirits from mini-bottles.
But by far the most wide-spread and disputed local ballot measure across the country was one aimed at outlawing gay marriage that was overwhelmingly adopted in all 11 states where it was up for the vote.
"They've passed across the board by wide margins," said Jennie Drage Bowser, policy analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), which is monitoring state ballot initiatives across the country.
The measures, almost identical in structure, succeeded in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
The amendments generally passed with a 3-1 majority, except in Oregon where earlier returns showed it had succeeded by about 55%, early figures showed.
The issue drove a wedge between civil rights lobbyists and conservative Christians earlier this year, climaxing in a failed bid, backed by President George W Bush, to pass a federal constitutional amendment banning the practice.
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