No re-vote on Prop. 8 this year (petition drive fails)

[Newsjock]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

California voters will not reconsider a ban on marriage for same-sex couples this November as an effort to repeal Prop. 8 did not gather enough signatures to place it on the ballot.

Backers of the repeal had until today to collect just over 694,000 signatures of registered voters. Campaign leaders are not saying how many they actually collected.

... In related news, a proposal to outlaw divorce for heterosexual couples failed to qualify last week.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=61099&tsp=1

[GodlessBiker]

1. Fuck! With the med marijuana thing on the ballot, the youngens would have voted for it.

[No Elephants]

2. they couldn't get 694,000 signatures? Are you kidding me? Someone messed up big time.

The city of Los Angeles alone has 3.8 million people.

[slackmaster]

16. Like most other things in politics, gathering signatures costs money

Lots of it.

[New Dawn]

19. Collecting signatures is hard work.

And you always need more than the minimum requirement as well (around 15%) because many will get tossed out for various (alleged) reasons.

[onehandle]

3. Lower in the article it says that there's another effort to repeal in 2012 and that hurt this one.

Lack of volunteers.

So when Obama is back on the ballot, there will be another vote.

That didn't work out so good in 2008.

[bear425]

4. That's very disappointing and shows an incredible

lack of forethought. It would have been much better to try to get it repealed now than to try in an election year. At least from my perspective.

[TheWraith]

11. This is an election year too. Midterms.

The real deciding factor, in my view, would be that it would be that they would be better off with the re-vote as soon as possible, to capitalize on the backlash and voter motivation from it passing in the first place. The whole waiting until 2012 thing was dumb.

[Tempest]

13. Midterm elections favor the right

Been that way for years.

Better to wait until 2012.

[TheWraith]

14. Since when? 2006, anyone? nt

[bear425]

15. Yes, of course.

I should have specified Presidential election year.

[Mz Pip]

5. I live in CA and never

even heard of this. Never was asked to sign a petition. Nothing.

[lunatica]

21. That was my first thought. I live in California too and never heard of it

And I work in UC Berkeley. If I didn't hear about it then I'm wondering where the hell people went to get signatures. UC Berkeley is a liberal and progressive petition signing hotspot.

[Mz Pip]

22. I can see

UC Berkeley from my house! :hi:

I also work there seasonally in admissions and never was approached by a petition collector. Usually walking around Berkeley or on Solano Ave near where I live is like running an obstacle course with all the signature collectors.

[lunatica]

23. Hi!

Berkeley is a wonderful place to live and work!

[pinto]

8. No signature drive activity in my county at all. n/t

[grantcart]

12. much better chance in 2012 than 2010 when the teabaggers are so well

organized.

[walnutpie]

24. I know more than a few tea party people

They are at minimum, indifferent to gay marriage, most of the ones I know are in favor of it.

The simple truth though, is that it does not motivate them much one way or another.

[fascisthunter]

6. What a Pathetically Sad State of Affairs this Country is in...

people go way out of their way to force certain groups of people into second class citizens... you right wing fucks are lucky so far that ordinary people are just not as twisted as you are. Keep it up... you morons just put yourselves in the history books as a bunch of losers on the wrong side of history... AGAIN!

Oh, this will be over-turned in time...

[a la izquierda]

7. ah, i swear...

nothing like continuing to deny people their civil rights.
welp, it's a good thing my mom has daughters who love and respect her sexuality, and would never deny hospital visits, etc. to her partner.
fuck.

[alp227]

9. At least the COURT CASE to repeal prop 8 is still pending.

Closing arguments will be heard in Perry v. Schwarzenegger puh-ritty soon!

Good thing that the silly "ban divorce" proposition won't be voted on this year. It seems that the voters have woken up?

And there's always 2012.

[slackmaster]

17. Don't get your hopes up on that one

I'm pretty sure it will fail.

[alp227]

18. Just because the state supreme court upheld prop 8?

I think that the federal court will think quite differently. After all, the 9th circuit court has a reputation for its left-leaning decisions...

[SoapBox]

10. I never knew there was a drive...

I live in CA and I also never even knew that there was any petition drive.

Either it was a major weak effort and/or no media coverage as well as badly organized.

Too bad...I would have signed it.

[NuttyFluffers]

20. never saw it or heard about it here. were they in SF Bay Area?

been to a few bars, friends going to various bars, deal with friends and family from all corners of the bay, most vociferously oppose prop 8, and i heard nary a peep from anyone. was this some whisper campaign to collect signatures? was i, and everyone i know, perpetually at the wrong place at the wrong time?

[MarshalltheIrish]

25. I'm completely fine with this actually

Here's why:

First off, the case has been prudently dissected in court, with two of the leading attorneys in Washington representing our side. During the hearings, the defense was thrashed at every turn. Their manipulative tools, which had worked to such great effect during the campaign in 2008, were effortlessly revealed as the fear-based lies they truly are. They lost the major arguments, with one man conceding "I don't know, I don't know" when asked how gay marriage will degrade straight marriage. Regardless of who wins the ruling when this trial is all said and done, it'll inevitably go to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Olson and Boies have tremendous experience and comfort. A victory there would not only be historic; it would affect how gay marriage is handled throughout the country and, in turn, the world.

Second, even if we won overwhelmingly at the ballot, it'd still be a victory of sorts for the anti-equality side. After all (as they're pathetically quick to proclaim), they've won every single ballot measure, which obviously makes it their most effective strategy. So basically, we'd affirm that worn-out method. But with the implications of the current case's outcome, that doesn't matter. All throughout American history, equal human rights have been secured through court cases, legislation, and Constitutional amendments (Brown vs. Board of Education, Loving vs. Virgina, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 19th Amendment, etc.), not the whim and will of the majority. This is no exception.

Fingers crossed that it all works out as we've hoped. It's been a long wait, and there's too much at stake to fall short this time.