It's like a game to everyone - Court made its decision and now folks are trying to change it one way or another -
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27523989California voters have passed a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
NBC News has yet to confirm the passage of this amendment, which would overturn a court ruling that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago.
The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay-rights activists, who had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough to help them defeat the measure.
It also represents a personal loss for the thousands of couples from California and others states who got married in the brief window when they could. Legal experts said courts will have to resolve whether their unions still are valid.
California joins Arizona and Florida, where voters also approved amendments banning gay marriage. Gay-rights forces also suffered a loss in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target.
Meantime, Colorado and South Dakota rejected anti-abortion initiatives.
In Washington state, voters decided to join Oregon as the only states offering terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide.
Michigan approved medical marijuana, and Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.
Those results were among the more than 150 measures voted on in 36 states.
'Culture wars'
In California, gay-rights supporters had hoped that a large Democratic-voter turnout would help defeat the state's proposed ban on same-sex marriage.
Similar bans had prevailed in 27 states before Tuesday's elections, but none were in California's situation — with about 18,000 gay couples married since a state Supreme Court ruling in May.
Some in San Francisco vowed to continue fighting for the right to marry if the proposition passed. "My view of America is different today," said Diallo Grant, a gay man with mixed-race parents. "The culture wars will continue."
Gay rights also was an issue in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples living together from being adoptive or foster parents.
The measure's sponsors painted it as a battle against a "gay agenda." Opponents argued it would make it harder for the state to find the foster parents it needs to take care of children.
