March 7, 2000
California voters are not only choosing between presidential candidates today, they are also voting on a highly-charged proposition that outlaws marriages between people of the same sex.
News Specialist Carole Mikita explains who here is watching that vote.
The California initiative declaring that only marriages between a man and a woman are legal has generated intense debate in that state, and here at home.
California doesn't currently recognize gay marriages.
The initiative would prevent gay marriages from being recognized if they became legal in another state.
The LDS Church has asked its members in California to support the measure.
Here at home, the American Civil Liberties Union says the initiative probably won't make much of a difference because it simply reaffirms what is already the law in California.
But local ACLU officials say the issue goes deeper than what is legal.
Stephen Clark/ACLU Legal Director: "SO WHETHER THIS INITIATIVE PASSED OR NOT IS LARGELY IRRELEVANT IN LEGAL TERMS. IN SYMBOLIC TERMS, WHAT IT REFLECTS IS REALLY ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE EFFORTS TO BUILD AN IMPREGNABLE FIREWALL MARGINALIZING GAYS AND LESBIANS."
Of the presidential candidates - Democrats Bill Bradley and Al Gore oppose the measure.
Republican John McCain favors it and a spokesperson for Republican George W. Bush's campaign says he has not taken a position.
The LDS Church will not comment on the initiative today until the polls close.
We'll have exit polls projections on Eyewitness News at 10.
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