Atlanta helps fight anti-gay measures out west Southern Voice - Atlanta,GA,USA

Widely hyped as one of the most important elections in U.S. history, the Nov. 4 vote will be particularly monumental for gay and lesbian Americans, as the future of same-sex marriage reaches a pivotal crossroad. What that future entails will not be determined by who wins between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, but by a pair of ballot initiatives in two western states.

With same-sex marriage already constitutionally banned in Georgia, gay and lesbian Atlantans are channeling money and manpower into Arizona and California for what some consider the most important moment ever for the gay rights movement.

In 2006, Arizona distinguished itself as the first and only state where voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In November, those voters return to the polls to vote on another anti-gay marriage amendment that made it on the ballot after feverish last-minute lobbying by social conservatives.

In California, voters will cast ballots on Proposition 8, a measure that seeks to overturn the May decision by the California Supreme Court which legalized same-sex marriage.

Atlanta helps fight anti-gay measures out west
Southern Voice - Atlanta,GA,USA