http://www.repubblica.it/2008/11/dirett ... index.html11:13 Scontri a Los Angeles dopo l'abolizione delle nozze gay
Proteste a tensione a Los Angeles dopo che un referendum ha abolito i matrimoni gay in California. Un migliaio di omosessuali e attivisti per i diritti civili ha sfilato per West Hollywood per contestare Proposition 8, l'emendamento costituzionale che proibisce le nozze tra persone dello stesso sesso. Alcuni manifestanti si sono staccati dal corteo principale e hanno tentato di forzare un cordone della polizia. Ci sono state alcune scaramucce e gli agenti hanno fermato una decina di persone.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11 ... pstoryviewLos Angeles stops issuing marriage licenses to gay couples
(CNN) -- The Los Angeles County Registrar's Office stopped issuing same-sex marriage licenses after the apparent passage of a ballot measure to eliminate the right of gay couples to marry, the agency said Wednesday.
As of 11:30 p.m. ET, 52 percent of voters had approved California's Proposition 8, with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
"This is a great day for marriage," Ron Prentice, chairman of ProtectMarriage.com, said in a statement. "The people of California stood up for traditional marriage and reclaimed this great institution."
The amendment to the state constitution overrides a state Supreme Court ruling in May that legalized same-sex marriage. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on same-sex marriage
The decision to suspend the marriage licenses was based on the Secretary of State's semi-official canvass results from Election Night and a California State Constitutional provision that says a proposed amendment "shall be submitted to the electors and if approved by a majority of votes thereon takes effect the day after the election," Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan said in a news release.
The agency said it would act accordingly if it is directed to reverse course or take further action in the future.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles Wednesday to vent their disappointment at the apparent passage of a ballot initiative to ban gay and lesbian marriages.
The demonstrators peacefully rallied in West Hollywood, holding placards and waving gay pride flags. Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters staged a half-hour sit-in outside CNN's Los Angeles bureau on Sunset Boulevard. The demonstrators chanted slogans and banged on the building's glass doors but then dispersed without incident.
Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said she is "saddened beyond belief" over the proposed amendment.
DeGeneres, who wed actress Portia de Rossi in August, said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press that she, "like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality" by electing Barack Obama as president.
DeGeneres says that with the passage of California's Proposition 8, "we took a giant step away."
The measure was one of three stunning blows to supporters of same-sex unions in Tuesday's election, after voters in Arizona and Florida also approved constitutional amendments recognizing marriage only as a union between one man and one woman.
In Arizona, where a similar measure failed in 2006, Proposition 102 passed with 56 percent of the vote. Florida voters approved that state's amendment, 62 percent to 38 percent.
Arizona, California and Florida were the only states to weigh constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions this year, down from 11 states in the 2004 election.
But voters faced other hot-button social issues Tuesday, from abortion and affirmative action to suicide and animal rights.
As of Wednesday, CNN had projected results on most major initiatives, based on actual results and exit poll data from key areas.
Fifty-seven percent of voters in Arkansas supported a measure to prohibit unmarried sexual partners from adopting children or from serving as foster parents. The measure specifies that the prohibition applies to opposite-sex as well as same-sex couples.
Two proposals that would have limited reproductive rights were defeated.
Voters in Colorado rejected a measure defining a person to "include any human being from the moment of fertilization," which would have applied to sections of the Colorado Constitution that protect "natural and essential rights of persons."
South Dakota rejected a proposal to prohibit abortions except in cases of rape or incest or where the mother's life or health is at risk. A similar measure that did not include exceptions for rape or the health of the mother was on the ballot in 2006; voters rejected it 56 percent to 44 percent.
Voters in Michigan chose to amend the state constitution to permit human embryonic stem cell research with certain restrictions. The embryos, which must have been created for fertility treatment purposes, would have to be ones that would have been discarded otherwise, and they may not be used more than 14 days after cell division has begun.
Results are still pending for California's Proposition 4, which would require physicians to provide notification to parents or guardians of minors at least 48 hours before performing an abortion.
The movement to change marijuana laws won victories in two states. Michigan became the 13th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, with 63 percent of the vote. Voters in Massachusetts approved an initiative to decriminalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
Voters in Nebraska approved a measure prohibiting the state government from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to people based on race, ethnicity, color, sex or national origin. The vote effectively bans affirmative action programs in the state.
Results on a similar measure in Colorado have not been announced.
CNN projected that voters in Washington approved a citizen initiative allowing adults with six months or less to live to request lethal medication prescribed by a physician. A physician is not required to comply, and anyone participating "in good faith" with the request would not risk criminal prosecution.
Arizonans supported a measure to overhaul state laws prohibiting the employment of illegal immigrants. Under Proposition 202, only employers who know that an employee does not have legal status would risk having their business licenses suspended or revoked.
Many states also weighed budget-related proposals with significant implications for the generation of state revenue.
In Massachusetts, voters rejected a measure to cut the state personal income tax rate in half for 2009 and eliminate the state personal income tax starting in 2010. A similar ballot measure in North Dakota also failed.
Proposals related to gambling and lotteries were on the ballot in eight states, including Maryland, where current law prohibits the operation of commercial slot machines. Voters there approved a constitutional amendment to authorize the use of video lottery terminals, or slot machines, at certain locations in the state to fund public education.
Ora, vorrei rivolgere l'attenzione di Lorsisgnori su due "piccole differenze di esposizione":
1) Nel trafiletto (ridicolo, come il giornale che l'ha pubblicato) italiano, parlano solo di quello che gli conviene cioè dello stop ai matrimoni gay. E i "referendum" (ballot) su staminali, suicidio assistito, liberalizzazione a scopo terapeutico della marijuana, ecc... dove sono finiti? Che é si spaventano che ci si possa accorgere che persino negli USA sono MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLTO MENO BIGOTTI DI NOI?
2) In Italia si parla di presunti scontri, mentre la CNN riporta
The demonstrators peacefully rallied in West Hollywood, holding placards and waving gay pride flags. Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters staged a half-hour sit-in outside CNN's Los Angeles bureau on Sunset Boulevard. The demonstrators chanted slogans and banged on the building's glass doors but then dispersed without incident.
Ebbeh chi protesta deve, per definizione, essere un violento. E se non lo é, ce lo inventiamo, esageriamo, scombiniamo le cose. Tanto chi vuoi che tra questi caproni ignoranti ed ormai avvezzi solo ai reality (gli italiani, insomma) si prenda la briga di leggere i quotidiani (in versione cartacea o online) stranieri?
Se non fosse che più del 70% degli italiani sa solo quello che legge sui vari rotoloni scottex (repubblica, stampa, corriere, e compagnia brutta, bruttissima) e sulle ancora più inutili sette tv nazionali, ci sarebbe da ridere...
Ahhh... che bello stare in italia...
P.S. Il mio regno ([:mauri86]) per la possibilità (cioè tanti denari) di andare a stare, vita natural durante, a Wellington...
"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do."
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
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Denny Crane 
