By: Devin Henry - Minnesota Daily

Minnesotans voted last week to pass a sales tax increase to benefit the arts and the environment, but it wasn’t the only state to put an issue into voters’ hands.

In fact, there were more than 170 different ballot measures voted on across the country.

Some were votes on issues like tax increases, like in Minnesota, while others dealt with social issues that tend to crop up in every election.

Like in Minnesota, there were winners and losers in each state. Below is a brief explanation of some of the most consequential ballot measures across the country.

Gay Marriage

Voters in Arizona, California and Florida voted in favor of bans on gay marriage on Tuesday.

Monica Meyer , political policy director for OutFront Minnesota, a gay rights advocacy group, said the result was “heartbreaking.”

“I think we thought by 2008 … that the support for two people of the same sex who love each other, that there would be support for allowing those couples to stay married,” she said.

California has given more than 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Meyer said. Courts are now considering the fate of those licenses.

The state’s Supreme Court struck down a gay marriage ban in May.

“It was really hard to watch people vote for discrimination against GLBT families,” Meyer said.

Edward Schiappa, a University of Minnesota communications professor, said he wasn’t surprised by the vote.

Most voters only view the issue as a political issue, and not as one relating it to the larger issue of constitutional law, he said.

“If you ask most people from a personal value standpoint, I’m not surprised to see a majority not ready for this,” he said.

Abortion

For the second time in three years, South Dakotans voted down an abortion ban, though this year’s ban was more lenient than in 2006.

This year’s measure included exceptions for women who had been raped or whose lives were in danger.

Despite the change, the measure was defeated by a 10-point margin.

“To us, [the votes] show that there is a pro-choice majority in this country,” said Avi Viswanathan, political director for NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. “It doesn’t just in exist in pockets.”

Molly O’Hare, president of Students for Human Life on campus, said she would have voted for the ban with those limitations in place, although she doesn’t think they would matter for some voters.

“I think so many people who are on the fence say they wouldn’t do it but they want it to be an option,” she said.

California also voted down a measure that would impose parental notification and a 48-hour waiting period on abortions for minors.

Representatives for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life declined comment on Tuesday.

Marijuana

Michigan voted to become the 13th state to allow medical marijuana use on Nov. 4, and Massachusetts voted to lessen penalties for possession of the drug.

Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said with Michigan’s vote, about one in every four Americans lives in a state that allows marijuana for medical use.

“With so many states now permitting medical marijuana, we certainly hope that will give an impetus to reconsideration of federal policies on the issue,” Mirken said.

In 2007, a bill legalizing medical marijuana use in Minnesota passed the Senate, but was never passed in the House.

The state of Massachusetts decriminalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, replacing it with a $100 fine.

“Hopefully [the votes are] going to be the beginning of bringing some common sense both to other states and the federal level,” Mikren said.

Devin Henry reports for MNDaily.com, a student publication at the University of Minnesota. MNDaily.com is partnering with Campus Politico for the 2008 elections.

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