Gay marriage banned
UTD groups, students worked to combat Prop. 2 passage
Iris Kuo
Issue date: 11/14/05 Section: News
Despite strong opposition voiced by groups like UTD's Homage, Texas became the 19th state to ban gay marriage in its constitution, with about 75 percent approval in Collin and Dallas county.
The controversial item, Proposition 2, launched campaigns for and against the amendment, which prohibits "any legal status identical or similar to marriage" for same-sex couples.
Paul Tran, president of Stonewall Democrats, said he spent countless hours working at phone banks, voter registration drives on campus, handing out flyers, walking door-to-door and organizing fundraisers in opposition to the measure.
"The moment this passed state legislation, I started carrying around voter registration cards," said Tran, government and politics doctoral student. "It's been an extremely personal issue for me. The world knew I was gay, except UT Dallas, until this passed the legislation, and it was like 'Okay, everyone's going to have to know now.'"
While Tran said he had expected the amendment to pass in Texas, he was more hopeful towards Dallas voters, noting the city was ranked in the top 100 most liberal American cities by the Bay Center for Polling Research.
Texas already has a law that bans same-sex marriage, though the amendment could likely jeopardize civil unions and other contractual agreements between unmarried couples.
"There's nothing in the constitution right now that allows same-sex couples to get married ... So, this notion that you need this amendment to do it again is just goofy," said UTD political science professor Greg Thielemann. "What does change though is that the second part of this, which I think is probably the most objectionable part, is that they attempt to prohibit any other kinds of legal arrangements that people try to get into."
Voters in Dallas also approved $23.8 million a new homeless shelter downtown, but rejected a proposal that would have given Dallas Mayor Laura Miller more power, marking the second time this year a strong mayor initiative has been struck down.
Politics
Opponents of the amendment voiced concerns about the amendment's "vague" language and noted Texas already has a law against same-sex marriage.
Some have said the amendment was a symbolic move to reach out to Republicans in advance of Governor Rick Perry's upcoming re-election.
"He wants to keep these people solidly in his camp so he can fight off challenges from (Texas Comptroller Carol) Strayhorn or (U.S. Senator Kay Bailey) Hutchinson or anybody else," Thielemann said.
The results didn't surprise political scientists, who pointed to the largely conservative voting base in Texas. Though major newspapers in Texas wrote editorials against the proposition, the measure was approved in all counties except for the traditionally Democratic Travis County, where Austin is located.
Voter Turnout
Voter turnout in the UTD area was higher than the state's average of 16 percent, with about 19 percent in Dallas county and more than 23 percent in Collin County. The campus sprawls across county lines, with Collin County north of Drive A and Dallas County to the south.
The turnout was also higher than normal for a constitutional amendment election. Professor Anthony Champagne said voter turnout for constitutional amendments were usually about 10 percent to 12 percent. Both Champagne and Thielemann noted Proposition 2 was likely to draw out additional voters.
"Traditionally, people don't show up and vote for these constitutional amendment questions. They're not huge draws. It just doesn't get people all that excited," he said.
What next?
Though supporters of a gay marriage ban celebrated statewide on election night, Proposition 2 may be unsound legally, Champagne said.
Supporters of the amendment, however, said the measure will protect the sanctity of marriage against "activist judges" who could overturn the law.
Not so, Champagne said.
"In terms of legal significance, it's of no significance that it would go into the Texas Constitution," he said. "Courts can overturn the constitutional amendments too, so that doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
He added a federal court would have to overturn it, and noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has been sympathetic to gay rights in the past and previously overturned an anti-gay constitutional amendment.
The controversial item, Proposition 2, launched campaigns for and against the amendment, which prohibits "any legal status identical or similar to marriage" for same-sex couples.
Paul Tran, president of Stonewall Democrats, said he spent countless hours working at phone banks, voter registration drives on campus, handing out flyers, walking door-to-door and organizing fundraisers in opposition to the measure.
"The moment this passed state legislation, I started carrying around voter registration cards," said Tran, government and politics doctoral student. "It's been an extremely personal issue for me. The world knew I was gay, except UT Dallas, until this passed the legislation, and it was like 'Okay, everyone's going to have to know now.'"
While Tran said he had expected the amendment to pass in Texas, he was more hopeful towards Dallas voters, noting the city was ranked in the top 100 most liberal American cities by the Bay Center for Polling Research.
Texas already has a law that bans same-sex marriage, though the amendment could likely jeopardize civil unions and other contractual agreements between unmarried couples.
"There's nothing in the constitution right now that allows same-sex couples to get married ... So, this notion that you need this amendment to do it again is just goofy," said UTD political science professor Greg Thielemann. "What does change though is that the second part of this, which I think is probably the most objectionable part, is that they attempt to prohibit any other kinds of legal arrangements that people try to get into."
Voters in Dallas also approved $23.8 million a new homeless shelter downtown, but rejected a proposal that would have given Dallas Mayor Laura Miller more power, marking the second time this year a strong mayor initiative has been struck down.
Politics
Opponents of the amendment voiced concerns about the amendment's "vague" language and noted Texas already has a law against same-sex marriage.
Some have said the amendment was a symbolic move to reach out to Republicans in advance of Governor Rick Perry's upcoming re-election.
"He wants to keep these people solidly in his camp so he can fight off challenges from (Texas Comptroller Carol) Strayhorn or (U.S. Senator Kay Bailey) Hutchinson or anybody else," Thielemann said.
The results didn't surprise political scientists, who pointed to the largely conservative voting base in Texas. Though major newspapers in Texas wrote editorials against the proposition, the measure was approved in all counties except for the traditionally Democratic Travis County, where Austin is located.
Voter Turnout
Voter turnout in the UTD area was higher than the state's average of 16 percent, with about 19 percent in Dallas county and more than 23 percent in Collin County. The campus sprawls across county lines, with Collin County north of Drive A and Dallas County to the south.
The turnout was also higher than normal for a constitutional amendment election. Professor Anthony Champagne said voter turnout for constitutional amendments were usually about 10 percent to 12 percent. Both Champagne and Thielemann noted Proposition 2 was likely to draw out additional voters.
"Traditionally, people don't show up and vote for these constitutional amendment questions. They're not huge draws. It just doesn't get people all that excited," he said.
What next?
Though supporters of a gay marriage ban celebrated statewide on election night, Proposition 2 may be unsound legally, Champagne said.
Supporters of the amendment, however, said the measure will protect the sanctity of marriage against "activist judges" who could overturn the law.
Not so, Champagne said.
"In terms of legal significance, it's of no significance that it would go into the Texas Constitution," he said. "Courts can overturn the constitutional amendments too, so that doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
He added a federal court would have to overturn it, and noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has been sympathetic to gay rights in the past and previously overturned an anti-gay constitutional amendment.
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