Today is the day America decides on its President – and a number of states also have important LGBT-related measures on their ballots. Obama for President: Current polls have the Democrats well in the lead California's Proposition 8 would ban gay marriages in that state – and US73 million dollars has been spent on campaigns to influence voters on the issue. Current polls suggest Californians will today reject the Proposition by a slim margin – meaning same-sex couples in the State can continue to marry. Meanwhile, same-sex marriage-related constitutional amendments in Florida and Arizona, along with the Adoption and Foster Care Act in Arkansas, will have serious consequences for gay and lesbian citizens in their states. Many LGBT candidates are running for offices at all levels of Government across the States – including Jared Polis in Colorado, who is expected to be the first out gay man to be elected to the US Congress as a non-incumbent. At the top of the ticket, the Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama has indicated he is in favour of many pro-LGBT measures, including hate crimes protections, non-discrimination policies, Gays in the military, Civil Unions, youth protection and same-sex parenting rights. Republican Presidential nominee John McCain has demonstrated that he is against many of those goals.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 5th November 2008 - 10:14am