Just when you've totally given up on California.....On a day when Californians overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama, California voters approved an amendment to their constitution banning same sex marriage, overturning the California Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just a few months ago.
With almost 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Proposition 8 was leading 52 percent to 48 percent.
The battle over Proposition 8 was one of the most intense fights over a ballot initiative in American history. The "Yes on (Proposition) 8" campaign had raised 35 million dollars and had sent out about 100,000 volunteers all over the state of California.
The "No on 8" faction had raised about 38 million dollars and had about 10,000 volunteers.
Campaign donations for this fight came in from all across America, with Christians and Mormons donating for the constitutional amendment, and gay rights activists and Hollywood stars such as Ellen DeGeneres and Brad Pitt donating to oppose it.
Chip White, the co-campaign manager for the "Yes on (Proposition) 8" campaign said this after seeing the results: "Momentum continues to be on our side as California recognizes the serious consequences if gay marriage remains legal."
Florida and Arizona also voted Tuesday to ban gay marriage, joining dozens of other states that define marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman. In both Florida and Arizona, there were laws that already defined marriage as a heterosexual institution, but supporters pushed to amend the state constitutions, claiming that doing so would protect marriage from future legal challenges.
So it ended up being a really great election for the opponents of gay marriage.
However, it is important to note that the California vote against gay marriage was not as strong as it was eight years ago.
Eight years ago, Californians voted 61% to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. So Tuesday's vote was substantially weaker.
But it still passed, and that is something to be thankful for.
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