By Menaka Fernando
BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
mfernando@media.ucla.edu
With 11 states voting to ban same-sex marriage in
Tuesday’s election, conservatives hope once again to push the
ban into the U.S. Constitution as gay rights activists mourn the
huge setback to the gay community.
Two-thirds of the 20 million people who voted on the measure
supported the ban on same-sex marriage, with millions also
supporting a ban on civil unions in eight of the 11 states on whose
ballot the measure appeared. In Mississippi, Montana and Oregon,
the ban was exclusive to same-sex marriage.
Though the bans across the nation have no direct effect on
California legislation, leaders of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community on the UCLA campus expressed concern about
their implications but say they can overcome the setbacks.
“(The bans) just give us direction in terms of the work
we’re going to have to do. Its painful, but we’re going
to survive it,” said Ronni Sanlo, the director of the LGBT
Resource Center.
Many campus activists believe California law ““ which bans
recognition of same-sex marriage but allows domestic partners to
formalize their relationships ““ is unfair, and they
sympathize with same-sex couples in other, stricter states.
In Mississippi, 86 percent of voters rejected same-sex marriage,
and in Ohio, domestic partners could lose some state benefits
immediately. Oregon’s measure encountered the most
opposition, but passed with a 57 percent approval.
Steven Leider, student affairs officer of the LGBT center, said
the ban may deprive families of health insurance for children and
parents.
Still, supporters of the bans believe it is important to protect
and codify the sanctity of marriage by defining it as a union only
between a man and woman.
Advocates for the bans say a federal initiative is necessary and
foreseeable.
After President Bush expressed support for a Constitutional ban
in February, a proposal was brought to the Senate in July, but was
killed after it did not pass a procedural vote. In October, the
House of Representatives rejected the amendment with a 227 to 186
vote. A two-thirds vote was needed for approval.
Now, with the momentum of the state bans, many same-sex marriage
opponents hope to push the issue back onto the federal stage.
The bans “are a prelude to the real battle. …
Ultimately, only our Federal Marriage Amendment will protect
marriage,” said Matt Daniels of the Alliance for Marriage, a
group pushing for the federal legislation.
But experts say it’s difficult to predict whether a
national amendment would pass in the near future.
“The states that passed these measures were conservative
states, so we still don’t know how far this could go on a
national level,” said political science Professor David Wirls
from UC Santa Cruz.
Wirls added that the issue also may have helped re-elect
President Bush in this election.
Same-sex marriage is “the new galvanizing issue for
conservative, evangelical whites,” he said, “the new
gut-level emotional issue.”
“The gay marriage issue really helped to bring out the
white evangelical vote that Bush failed to get in 2000,” he
said, but added that Bush may encounter strong opposition from
those outside his party and ultimately shy away from strongly
advocating a national law.
Many Christian groups hailed the state bans as a moral victory
for the country.
“Christians here and around the nation consider this a
great victory for the institution of marriage. … We had to stand
up and say “˜Enough is enough,'” said Rod Parsley,
a pastor in Ohio.
Meanwhile, gay rights activists vow to continue to take the
issue to court with several pending and planned lawsuits.
“Now there is even more of a reason to be an
activist,” Sanlo said.
But for same-sex marriage advocates to be successful in a
country with a large portion of its population against giving
marriage rights to same-sex couples, political science Professor
Bruce Cain of UC Berkeley said advocates need to be as strategic as
their mostly Republican opponents.
Many Republican politicians will use the issue to win votes,
Cain said, adding that “the Republicans will beat a dead
horse as long as they can and as long as there are votes to be
won.”
To compete, Cain said proponents of same-sex marriage should
alter the language they use in their fight.
“(They) need to get rid of the language of marriage and
focus on the issue of rights,” he said. If they do that,
it’ll be “less likely to conflict with moral and
religious beliefs.”
Though they experienced defeats in several states, gay marriage
advocates did earn some victories in Tuesday’s election.
In Massachusetts, incumbent legislators who supported equal
rights for same-sex couples won back their seats. Voters also
repealed a measure in Cincinnati that banned laws supporting gay
rights. In Idaho, North Carolina and Dallas, voters elected gay
candidates to office.
With reports from Brian Holbrook, Robert Faturechi, Sabah
Riazati, Bruin contributors, and Bruin wire services.