California's Prop 8 ballot initiative may be receiving the most attention, but there are plenty of important values issues to go around. Tomorrow, voters will be considering measures in 33 states on everything from prostitution to casinos.
Arkansas
Initiative 3 would amend the state Constitution to allow lotteries.
Voters also have the chance to ban unmarried couples (heterosexual and homosexual) from adopting and providing foster care. Act 1 would amend the state's constitution to protect these vulnerable kids from being placed with same-sex or cohabiting parents, which studies show have more incidents of violence, substance abuse, and mental disorders.
California
Proposition 4 would create a limited statewide parental notification law. If it passes, doctors would be required to call home before performing an abortion on a minor girl.
Colorado
Also known as the Personhood Amendment, Question 48 would define a "person" as "any human being from the moment of fertilization." If successful, this initiative could have a significant impact on future abortion laws.
Amendment 50 may be called the "Limited Gaming Initiative," but the measure actually increases gambling in the state with provisions that would allow 24/7 casino hours.
Maine
Question 2 would authorize Olympia Gaming of Las Vegas to operate a gaming facility at a single site in Oxford County. This proposal would also lower the legal age for gambling from 21 to 19 and lower the legal age to work in a casino from 21 to 18. The same proposal would also allow the casino to extend credit to gamblers, which is currently prohibited under Maine law.
Maryland
Question 2 asks voters to approve the placement of 15,000 slot machines at five locations throughout the state.
Massachusetts
Question 3, the only anti-gambling measure on U.S. ballots this year, would shut down the state's two dog racing tracks by January 1, 2010.
Michigan
Proposal 2 would allow human embryos created for fertility purposes to be used for research, leading to the destruction of these embryos and undoing a 1978 law banning the killing of human embryos.
Missouri
Proposition A would repeal a state law that limits gambling losses to $500 in a two-hour period.
Ohio
Issue 6 would authorize the building of a $600,000,000 gambling "resort" near Wilmington. If passed, it would be Ohio's first casino.
South Dakota
Except in the cases of rape, incest, or threats to the mother's health, Measure 11 would amend the state's constitution to protect the unborn in South Dakota.
Washington
I-1000 would legalize assisted suicide, allowing doctors to order lethal drug overdoses for patients with six months or less to live. Family members would not have to be informed.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment