Initiatives in 4 states dealing with banning gay marriage and adoption by gays are winning in 3 states and leading in the fourth state (California) as of this morning according to CNN.
The Los Angeles Times this morning declared that voters had approved Proposition 8. Passage of Prop. 8 according to the LA Times calls into question the marriage of some 18,000 gay couples over the last 4 and a half months.
As reported by CNN:
Arizona Proposition 103 – Ban on Gay Marriage 56% yes/ 44% no
*projected winner
Arkansas Initiative 1 – Ban on Gay Couples Adopting Children 57% yes/43% no
* projected winner
Florida Amendment 2 – Ban on Gay Marriage 62% yes/ 38% no
*projected winner
California Proposition B – Ban on Gay Marriage 52% yes/ 48% no
* still too close to call
The California results are with 95% of the precincts counted according to CNN. There were 5,163,908 yes votes to 4,760,336 no votes. Although the results aren’t final, it would appear to be very unlikely that this measure will be defeated.
Spending for and against Prop. B has broken national spending records for social initiatives, exceeding some $60 million as of last week according to US News and World Report. The races in Arizona and Florida have exceeded another $11 million.
Spending for and against Proposition 8 has been roughly equal. Some 40% of the money supporting the initiative has been identified as coming from members of the Mormon Church. The largest donor supporting Prop 8 with a $1.4 million donation has been the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization based in Connecticut.
The largest donation against the initiative was $1.3 million by the California Teacher’s Association.
The LA Times article reports that the latest spending on Proposition 8 on both sides now exceeds $74 million.
