Arizona marriage ballot initiative wording changed
Filed by: Alex Blaze
August 29, 2008 2:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2008/08/arizona_marriage_ballot_initiative_wordi.phpThe state attorney general, Terry Goddard, who approves wording for initiatives that will appear on the ballot, has required the marriage amendment in that state to add on a sentence explaining that "the measure would 'have the effect of retaining the current laws regarding marriage.'" Secretary of State Jan Brewer threatened to sue Goddard, because she said that the extra sentence was confusing (Arizona statutory law forbids same-sex marriage, not the constitution, which is what the ballot initiative is about).
Well, Brewer has said that she won't sue and agreed to the new wording. Now the ballots in Arizona will explicitly say that voting "No" on the measure doesn't mean that same-sex marriage is allowed since state law already outlaws it. This is considered a win for same-sex marriage supporters, since people generally assume that voting "No" on one of those amendments means that same-sex marriage is allowed.
