Proposition 1 was a referendum in the Idaho in 1994, concerning gay rights and minority status. The purpose of Proposition 1 was to prevent homosexual people from receiving minority status in the state. The Idaho Citizens Alliance (ICA) petitioned for 2 years for enough signatures to put their initiative on the November 1994 ballot. [1] Proposition 1 was defeated in the polls by a majority vote. [2]
In January 1992, Kelly Walton, leader of the newly established ICA, announced his intention to pass an initiative that would prevent any citizen of Idaho from receiving "special rights" based on their sexual orientation. [3] Supporters of the initiative believed that homosexuality was a choice and that minority status should not be granted for a person's behavior. [4] In order for the initiative to officially make an Idaho ballot, it required signatures. The ICA petitioned and rallied for two years until finally obtaining the required number of signatures to make the November 1994 ballot.
While the ICA petitioned, a pro-LGBT rights group Don't Sign On protested and rallied in opposition. Doing what they could to bring the issue of homosexual rights to the attention of Idaho citizens, Don't Sign On campaigned against Proposition 1 and the ICA. When Focus on the Family voiced anti-homosexual opinions, Don't Sign On and other homosexual supporters held a vigil in front of Family Forum, the Boise office for Focus on the Family. [5] The Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade drew 1,167 people to Boise and the organizers of the event credit the anti-gay initiative for the attendance boost. [6] In August 1994, in order to bring even more attention to their cause, Don't Sign On changed their name to No On One. [7] The No On One Coalition maintained their protests and rallies through the November election. The election came down to the undecided voters who defeated Proposition One.[ citation needed ]
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.
Ballot Measure 9 was a 1992 no-promo-homo ballot measure in the U.S. state of Oregon. Concerning gay rights as well as pedophilia, sadomasochism, and public education, it drew widespread national attention.
California Proposition 187 was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit undocumented immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California. Voters passed the proposed law at a referendum on November 8, 1994. The law was challenged in a legal suit the day after its passage, and found unconstitutional by a federal district court on November 11. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis halted state appeals of this ruling.
In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. It is a form of direct democracy.
Proposition 200, the "Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act", was an Arizona state initiative passed in 2004 that basically requires: (a) persons to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote; (b) voters to present a photo identification before receiving a ballot at the polling place; and (c) state and local agencies to verify the identity and eligibility, based on immigration status, of applicants for non-federally mandated public benefits. The proposition also makes it a misdemeanor for public officials to fail to report violations of U.S. immigration law by applicants for those public benefits and permits private lawsuits by any resident to enforce its provisions related to public benefits. The requirement to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote was later ruled invalid in federal court.
The Briggs Initiative, officially California Proposition 6, was a ballot initiative put to a referendum on the California state ballot in the November 7, 1978 election. It was sponsored by John Briggs, a conservative state legislator from Orange County. The failed initiative sought to ban gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools.
A ballot proposition in the state of Arizona refers to any legislation brought before the voters of the state for approval.
Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in court. The proposition was created by opponents of same-sex marriage in advance of the California Supreme Court's May 2008 appeal ruling, In re Marriage Cases, which followed the short-lived 2004 same-sex weddings controversy and found the previous ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2010, although the court decision did not go into effect until June 26, 2013, following the conclusion of proponents' appeals.
On November 15, 2008, thousands of people in cities across the United States and ten other countries protested California voters' approval of Proposition 8, which changed the state Constitution to restrict the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples and eliminated same-sex couples' right to marry. The demonstrations were organized by Join the Impact, a grassroots group that emerged in light of the election results.
Strauss v. Horton 46 Cal.4th 364, 93 Cal.Rptr.3d 591, 207 P.3d 48, was the consolidation of three lawsuits following the passage of California's Proposition 8 on November 4, 2008, which went into effect on November 5. The suits were filed by a number of gay couples and governmental entities. Three of these six were accepted by the Supreme Court of California to be heard together. The oral arguments were made in San Francisco on March 5, 2009. These cases were new to the California Supreme Court, and Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar stated that it will set precedent as "no previous case had presented the question of whether an initiative could be used to take away fundamental rights".
The 2009 Washington Referendum 71 (R-71) legalized domestic partnership in Washington state, the first statewide referendum in the United States that extended to LGBT people the rights and responsibility of domestic partnership. The bill had passed State Legislature, and it was signed into law by the Governor in May 2009, but opponents gathered enough signatures to put the measure before the voters, who returned ballots by mail over three weeks ending on November 3, 2009, approving the measure 53% to 47%. The new law went into effect 30 days later, on December 3, 2009.
KnowThyNeighbor.org is a non-profit grass roots coalition co-founded in September 2005 by Tom Lang and Aaron Toleos for the purpose of publishing a fully searchable list of the names of people who signed the petition to end same sex marriage in Massachusetts that was sponsored by VoteOnMarriage.org. Knowthyneighbor.org was the first lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) group to pioneer this type of activism.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the U.S state of Idaho face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Idaho, and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since October 2014. State statutes do not address discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal under federal law. A number of cities and counties provide further protections, namely in housing and public accommodations. A 2019 Public Religion Research Institute opinion poll showed that 71% of Idahoans supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBT people, and a 2016 survey by the same pollster found majority support for same-sex marriage.
Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, also known as the FAIR Education Act and informally described by media outlets as the LGBT History Bill, is a California law which compels the inclusion of the political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people into educational textbooks and the social studies curricula in California public schools by amending the California Education Code. It also revises the previous designation of "black Americans, American Indians, Mexicans, Asians, [and] Pacific Island people" into a list considered Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It would also amend an existing law by adding sexual orientation and religion into a list of characteristics that schools are prohibited from sponsoring negative activities about or teaching students about in an adverse way.
Add The Words, Idaho is an LGBTQ2A activist group and political action committee (PAC) in the United States, extant since 2010, which advocates adding the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the state's human rights act; this group grew out of several others which had been advocating the same. After ten years, however, Add The Words activist have been unable to achieve even one state-wide protection for LGBTQ2A Idahoans. An associated all-volunteer direct action group, Add The 4 Words Idaho, under the leadership of former state senator Nicole LeFavour, undertook a series of civil disobedience protests beginning on February 3, 2014 at the Statehouse.
Ballot Measure 13 (1994) was a ballot measure in the U.S. State of Oregon in 1994 concerning gay rights, spousal benefits, access to information, and public education.
2018 Idaho Proposition 2 is an approved ballot initiative that was included on the 2018 General Election ballot on November 6, 2018. Idaho's Proposition 2 is an initiative which addressed the proposed Medicaid gap within the state. This Ballot Initiative was approved and qualified to be included for voting on July 17, 2018, through campaigning and petitioning for signatures to acquire the necessary support of the voting Idaho population to be included for state-wide voting through the 2018 General Election ballot. This initiative moved to expand Medicaid to persons who did not previously qualify. Proposition 2 would expand Medicaid coverage to persons under the age of 65 if their income is below 133% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and are unable to gain medical insurance or coverage through other means.
Eugene Local Measure 51 was a 1978 petition calling for a referendum in Eugene, Oregon, to repeal Ordinance no. 18080, which prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in the city. VOICE created and campaigned for the petition, and gathered enough signatures to force a referendum vote. Measure 51 passed with 22,898 votes for and 13,427 against. This bill's passage garnered national attention, with Miami anti-gay activist Anita Bryant's telegram congratulating VOICE on the victory. It is the earliest example of 35 ballot measures to limit gay rights in Oregon.
Amendment 2 was a ballot measure approved by Colorado voters on November 3, 1992, simultaneously with the United States presidential election. The amendment prevented municipalities from passing anti-discrimination laws protecting gay, lesbian, or bisexual people.