The State of Sexuality 

The 2008 Election is indeed historic. President-elect Barack Obama will be the first mixed-race president of the United States, come January 20, 2009. Born in 1961 to a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, his parents’ marriage was illegal in many states. It was not until six years later that the Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia determined that laws against interracial marriage were unconstitutional.

Americans, however, are still generally not supportive of ending marriage discrimination for same-sex couples. On the same day that voters elected Obama to the highest office in the country, many voted to deny the rights of marriage and family to gay men and lesbians. Voters in Florida, Arizona, and California passed laws banning same-sex unions, while Arkansas voters approved a ban that prevents same-sex couples from fostering or adopting children. Connecticut stood as the lone state that defeated such discriminatory measures.

Meanwhile, voters in California, South Dakota, and Colorado defeated initiatives that would have restricted a woman’s right to choose.

NSRC’s Communications Director Ann Whidden said, “People have an easier time getting on board with reproductive rights issues. They understand that taking away these rights can lead to the erosion of other rights, which ultimately affects everyone.”

The same could be said about gay marriage rights. As indicated by the election, however, Americans have yet to make the connection between same-sex marriage and human rights. “These may seem like individual issues,” Whidden said, “but in a larger context laws that deny gay men and lesbians the right to marriage in effect treats one group as second-class citizens”—a position that threatens our democracy.

At a press conference hosted by the NSRC, Professors Ellen Riggle and Sharon Rostosky pointed out that their study concluded that anti-marriage rhetoric alone harms gay men and lesbians, whether they want to marry or not, by increasing depression and fear of discrimination among other things.

The election outcomes show that there is a lot of work to be done, Whidden said. "NSRC aims to help the mainstream understand that to make good sexual decisions and live healthy lives, ensuring everyone’s sexual rights is imperative."

Florida Amendment 2: Florida’s initiative amends their state constitution and defines marriage exclusively as a union between a man and a woman. It also prevents civil unions for same sex couples. The amendment passed with 62 percent approval.

Arizona Amendment 102: After narrowly defeating a marriage amendment in 2006, Arizona’s electorate supported Amendment 102 which amends their state constitution and defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Prior to passing Amendment 102, an Arizona state statute already limited marriages to opposite-sex couples, but supporters of the ban wanted to amend the constitution in order to try to prevent any judge from overturning the state law. Arizona’s amendment passed with a 14-point margin.

Arkansas Act 1: Arkansas’s Act 1 makes it illegal for any unmarried but cohabitating couple to adopt children or be foster parents. This initiative will affect both gay and straight couples who live together, but was introduced by the Family Council to target gay men and lesbians. Act 1 passed with a 14-point margin.

California Proposition 8: Proposition 8 will amend California’s state constitution defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The amendment may threaten 18,000 marriages that took place since June 16, 2008, when the California’s Supreme Court decision overturned a 1977 statute and 2000 voter approved proposition banning gay marriage. Proposition 8 passed by about 52 percent. The American Civil Liberties Union, Lamda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights have already filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court to overturn the ban.

Connecticut Question 1: Connecticut ‘s Supreme Court Decision to allow same-sex marriages will remain intact. Question 1, which sought to convene a Constitutional Convention in order to amend the state constitution, failed. Proponents of Question 1 wanted to convene a Constitutional Convention in order to amend Connecticut’s constitution limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. The measure failed by 22 points.
Pro-choice campaigns fared much better in key statewide elections.

South Dakota’s abortion ban, Measure 11, was defeated by a 10-point margin. Colorado’s Amendment 48, which sought to define life at conception and essentially make abortion illegal in Colorado failed by a stunning 48-point margin. California’s parental notification and mandatory waiting period initiative, Proposition 4, lost for the third consecutive time. The proposition was defeated by 4 points.