If you voted for Prop 2...

Hope you saw this coming.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...uthwest/stories/111005dntexprop2.7a85398.html

Gay marriage foes tackle divorce next

After Prop 2 success, conservatives also push national amendment

08:07 AM CST on Thursday, November 10, 2005

By ROBERT T. GARRETT and WAYNE SLATER / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Texas social conservatives want to translate their resounding victory on a gay marriage ban into broader results: reducing the state's divorce rate and passing a nationwide amendment to prevent same-sex unions.
Rep. Warren Chisum, who wrote the amendment, Proposition 2, endorsed by Texas voters by a ratio of more than 3-1, said Wednesday that it's too easy for spouses to split up. The state should consider repealing or modifying its no-fault divorce law, the Pampa Republican said.
"Gee whiz, our divorce rate's higher than New York," Mr. Chisum said. He proposed that between now and their next regular session in 2007, lawmakers study ways "to make marriage thrive more in our state."

Meanwhile, leaders of the pro-amendment campaign said Tuesday's vote should add momentum to the drive to have Congress pass a federal constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.
"This is a pretty strong message to Congress and the Senate before they vote on a marriage-protection amendment," said Kelly Shackelford of the Plano-based Free Market Foundation. "Most politicians are not going to want to stand up for the duty of standing in front of a steamroller."
Texas became the 19th state to place a gay marriage ban in its constitution with an overwhelming vote Tuesday, 76 percent to 24 percent. Just one of Texas' 254 counties – Travis, home of traditionally liberal Austin – voted against it.
In Dallas County, about two-thirds of voters endorsed the amendment, and in Harris County, nearly 73 percent did. Support was stronger in suburban counties such as Denton and Fort Bend but most fervent in the state's rural areas: East Texas voters registered nearly 90 percent approval.

Gay rights activists
Gay rights activists expressed disappointment and vowed to closely watch both the Legislature and the courts for possible "misuse" of the amendment.
"We have to hope that the people who oppose gay rights won't try to make this amendment more than it is," said Ken Upton of Dallas, a top attorney for the gay rights group Lambda Legal. "It's been represented to be about marriage, so let's see if they'll follow through with that."
Mr. Upton said supporters of gay marriage "don't have any plans on the horizon" to attack the amendment in federal court. He said his side expects to be playing defense, resisting lawsuits that challenge domestic partner benefits for employees of Travis County and the city of Dallas.
The amendment prohibits the state and local governments from recognizing any status similar to marriage, and opponents have expressed alarm that clause could mean a sweeping ban on benefits shared by gay couples.
While Mr. Upton and other gay rights advocates had predicted amendment supporters would next seek to ban gay foster parents and adoptions by gay couples, Mr. Chisum said he won't.
"They may fear we're going to beat them over the head with this deal, but that's certainly not my intent," he said. "I intend to treat them with respect and listen to their issues."
Cathie Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, said she favored a ban on gay and lesbian foster parents that the state House passed this spring. But, she said, "Until there are some changes in the Senate, that might have to wait a while."
She endorsed Mr. Chisum's call for a review of the no-fault divorce law, which took effect in 1974.
"It is a system that is broken," Ms. Adams said. "Men, women and children are getting hurt with that current law, with revolving-door marriages."
Supporters of Proposition 2 said that during debates, they regularly heard gay rights activists cite Texas' divorce rate. Texas had about 3.9 divorces for every 1,000 residents in 2002, a higher rate than New York (3.4) or Massachusetts (2.5), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mr. Chisum said he planned to ask House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, to convene a panel to examine no-fault divorce, longer waiting periods for marriage applicants and "covenant marriage," an idea tried in three other states.

A covenant marriage provides an alternative to the traditional marriage contract for couples who oppose no-fault divorce or who want to demonstrate a stronger commitment. Couples selecting a covenant marriage must get premarital counseling and may divorce only after a separation of two years or after proving adultery or domestic abuse.

Push for national ban
On a wider scale, other backers saw the Proposition 2 vote as a boost to the effort to amend the U.S. Constitution. Colorado-based Focus on the Family said the tally showed Americans believe marriage should be the union of a man and a woman.
"And yet, without federal constitutional protection, marriage continues to hang in the balance," the group argued.
Although a similar effort last year led by President Bush stalled, conservative lawmakers say they hope the amendment will come to a vote in Congress. No timeline has been scheduled, but Mr. Shackelford said social conservative leaders hope the Texas vote "puts an exclamation point" on the urgency of Congress to act.
Charles Cook, a political analyst and editor of the Cook Political Report, said factors beyond the Texas vote would probably have more influence on whether Republican leaders take up the measure next year.
"Whether it was 65 percent or 80 percent, I don't think these numbers are surprising to anybody," he said. "We knew Texas would vote this way."
A federal amendment would need the support of two-thirds of those voting in each House and then have to be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures (38).

Mr. Shackelford said he anticipates that the same coalition of pastors and social conservative leaders that pushed for the victory in Texas would be crucial to winning state ratification.
E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com or wslater@dallasnews.com