Marriage Amendments Seven for Eight on Election Day 2006
by Jeff Johnson
November 8, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Voters have approved "defense of marriage" amendments in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. But it appears Arizona is the first of more than two dozen states that have considered such measures to defeat a move to constitutionally define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
On Election Day two years ago, ballot measures amending state constitutions to protect traditional marriage made a clean sweep, passing in 11 states. That brought to 20 the total number of states taking it upon themselves to define marriage as a heterosexual relationship, effectively banning same-sex "marriage" in those states. Seven of the eight states considering similar initiatives on Election Day 2006 followed suit, with victories ranging from a 80-20 margin in Tennessee to a relatively close 52-48 margin in South Dakota. But with practically all precincts counted, the amendment in Arizona appears to have suffered a narrow defeat (49 percent to 51 percent). (See table to the left.)
State | Nov. 7 Results
(for - against) |
Arizona | 49% - 51% |
Colorado | 56% - 44% |
Idaho | 63% - 37% |
South Carolina | 78% - 22% |
South Dakota | 52% - 48% |
Tennessee | 80% - 20% |
Virginia | 57% - 43% |
Wisconsin | 59% - 41% |
On an election day in which voters may have been sending any number of messages to President Bush or to the Republican-controlled Congress, their message to homosexual activists was clear and overwhelmingly unified.
"Americans believe overwhelmingly that marriage is the union of one man and one woman," says Jim Pfaff with Colorado-based Focus on the Family, where the marriage amendment passed comfortably with 56 percent of that tally. "They know it's a vital institution to our country and to our government despite its faults," he adds.
Voters in Colorado also turned away a measure that would have granted domestic-partnership rights to same-sex couples, effectively establishing "civil unions." Pfaff calls the outcome of the two measures a reflection of voters -- Christians and non-Christians alike -- who "believe in the value of marriage."
Slightly more than 2.3 million Virginians cast their vote on that state's marriage amendment issue, with approximately 1.3 million of those (~57 percent) saying yes to traditional marriage. Chris Freund with VA4marriage.com is convinced Christians made a real difference in the outcome.
"Virginians have made it very clear that they do not want marriage redefined ...," says Freund. "We're just very pleased that Virginians -- and in particular, the Church in Virginia -- really stepped up to the plate and sent a very clear message."
In South Carolina, some opponents of traditional marriage are being accused of resorting to illegal tactics in their attempts to defeat the constitutional amendment measure. But Oran Smith with the Palmetto Family Council says voters in his state were not fooled.
"We were very distraught about all the work we put into putting signs at the key precincts and such that were just absolutely stolen, because they were replaced in the wee hours of the morning with signs from the opposition," says Smith. Despite those attempts, the South Carolina amendment won with an overwhelming 78 percent of the vote.
Though marriage in the majority of U.S. states is now constitutionally defined as the legal union of only one man and one woman, Focus on the Family's Pfaff says the work for pro-family activists is far from over.
"What we need to do now is to continue to press forward to protect marriage nationwide, and then thereafter we need to strengthen marriage," Pfaff urges. He believes that one way to do that is by reforming the nation's no-fault divorce laws.
Jeff Johnson, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
