Mutating bits of contagious discourse, because language is a virus.

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November 4th, 2004

Misleading amendment ballot


Georgia’s voters supported the anti-gay marriage amendment 3 to 1. The amendment to the state Constitution passed with 77 percent of the vote, or 2,195,960 votes, as compared to 667,730, or 23 percent of Georgians who voted against the amendment.
Misleading amendment ballot: Banning Gay Marriage

According to Georgia law, a constitutional amendment is only supposed to apply to one issue; this amendment dealt with at least four. The ballot only addressed the legal definition of marriage, yet did not include any wording about civil unions; nor did it mention any of the other amendment’s legal provisions.

The Legislature picked the language they thought people would approve without giving voters all the information about what they were voting for.

A Georgia law already bans gay marriages in Georgia, republicans were worried that law could be overturned by the courts.

The full amendment, which voters did not see on the ballot, would also bar judges from ruling on disputes between same-sex couples.
This amendment includes language that could ban civil unions, legal access to courts for property disputes and possibly even domestic partner benefits offered by private companies.

There must be another vote on the question of legal status for gay couples - perhaps it could be similiar to that for common-law unions. Whatever you think about gay sexuality, we are supposed to be pledged not to discriminate against US citizens on the basis of gender, class, race, sexual orientation, etc etc.

Atlanta, the city “too busy to hate.”

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