By Andy North
North@newsroom.byu.edu
Las Vegas -- Nevada voters passed a proposition that will not recognize same-sex marriages, including those performed in other states.
It gained 70 percent, 399,668, of the vote and stated, 'Only a marriage between a male and a female shall be recognized and given effect in this state.'
Thirty percent of the voters, 175,177, opposed the proposition.
Richard Ziser, chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage in Nevada, said the issue started in 1996 when Congress defined marriage to be between a man and a woman and then left the states to take individual stances.
'In a sense, we are protecting our state constitution as it now stands,' said Zeiser about the nonprofit group comprised of various businesses, religions and volunteers trying to protect marriage in its traditional definition.
Nevada's constitution already defined marriage to be between a man and a woman, but the coalition's victory with the passage of the proposition extended the definition to mean that Nevada will not honor same-sex marriages from other states.
Opposition against same-sex marriages has led in the polls since it became an issue in the '60s, Ziser said. Most people believe in this issue without having to be convinced, he said.
Although support for the proposition has been strongly supported more than twice the number of signatures needed to put it on the ballot, support for freedom of choice has also been strong among heterosexuals.
Eli Cairns, a 24-year-old Nevada resident and heterosexual male, said he still supports freedom of choice on this issue.
'I think we should let people do whatever they want as long as they are not hurting anyone else,' he said.
Arguments of discrimination and deprivation of rights have been the loudest from the freedom of choice groups, Ziser said.
'Once this passes, no rights will really change. We are only reconfirming the current marriage law in the state of Nevada,' he said.
Those who disagree with freedom of choice say same-sex marriage could have adverse effects on the community.
For Jeannine Brundage, a 10-year Las Vegas resident, the issue represents family values and keeping the nation's values strong.
'I am concerned about how it affects our children,' Brundage said. 'If gay marriages are recognized, who says the children won't be influenced by them?'
She said marriage between a man and a woman is the way it has always been, and the way it should be.
See related story:
Las Vegas Proposition 2 decides gay marriage 11/7/2000