Gay rights measures on the ballot in three states

[WillParkinson]

Gay rights measures on the ballot in three states
By The Associated Press

(Olympia, Wash.) Nearly a year after California voters overturned same-sex marriage, voters in three other states will weigh in this fall on whether to reverse gay rights initiatives ranging from anti-discrimination measures to marriage benefits.

In Maine, voters will decide whether or not to uphold the state’s legalization of same-sex marriage. In Washington state, a so-called “everything but marriage” law that expands the state’s current domestic partnership law will be on the ballot. And in Kalamazoo, Mich., voters will decide on an ordinance that prohibits discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals.

“In off-year elections, ballot measures gain much more attention, regardless of the topic,” said University of Washington political science professor Matt Barreto. But California’s battle over Proposition 8 is “certainly an important backdrop.”

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