Ballot Box

An official proponent of Proposition 8 testified at a federal trial Thursday that he was involved in disseminating claims that same-sex marriage could cause children to become gay and spark legalization of sex with children, incest and polygamy. William Tam, one of five official proponents for the 2008 ballot initiative, also testified about his personal views toward same-sex marriage. "It is very important that our children won't grow up to fantasize or think about, 'Should I marry Jane or John?

Charles Dickens would have been flummoxed by the Golden State in 2009. It was the worst of times, pure and simple, with no "best" to balance out the ledger. At the start of the last calendar year, the state of California was staring down the barrel of a $42-billion budget deficit looming for 2009-10. By midyear, when negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature got serious, the gap had widened to $60 billion. Sacramento closed that chasm with its usual patented formula of draconian budget cuts, imaginary savings and outright thievery from city and county fiscal larders.

Washington state voters have approved an "everything but marriage" law, marking a significant expansion of rights for gay couples who are registered as domestic partners. National gay rights groups say the passage of Referendum 71 marks the first time a state's voters have approved a gay equality measure at the ballot box. With about 69% of the expected vote counted in unofficial returns, R-71 was leading 52% to 48%. Full-fledged gay marriage is still not allowed.

Re: "Sitting pretty: Most top-paid CEOs take more in '08 despite the economy, public ourtage," May 24: Information in the last paragraphs said new Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro has introduced a shareholder rights plan to revive so-called proxy access and to eliminate broker voting. Individual shareholders need a voice when they make an investment. Many proxies are arriving very late, almost missing the shareholders meeting. On the back of those proxies is SEC-approved wording stating that if the company cannot get the material out by certain dates, the broker or the company can vote at their discretion.

The California Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8 and existing same-sex marriages left in place all rights for California's gays and lesbians except access to the label "marriage," but it provided little protection from future ballot measures that could cost gays and other minorities more rights, lawyers and scholars said Tuesday.

Re "Voters likely to revisit gay marriage," May 7 Why are we even having this debate about when civil rights should be put on the ballot again? Civil rights, especially of a minority, should not be up for popular vote. Period. The Supreme Court should do its job and throw out Proposition 8 and any future ballot measures that attempt to deny the civil rights of any class of Americans. Come on, Supreme Court. Commit to a legacy of fairness and do the right thing. Dave Hoen Santa Ana :: Frank Schubert, consultant for the Yes on 8 campaign, should understand that people have a right to their voice in the ballot box. Yes, marriage equality has been defeated twice in the last eight years, but the margin has become narrow since the two campaigns.

Re "Prop. 8 foes puzzled by jurist's seeming reversal," Nov. 25 The argument to overturn Proposition 8 because it is a constitutional revision rather than an amendment is weak. Justice Joyce L. Kennard's vote to not hear the case should serve as a wake-up call that the strategy is misguided. Marriage equality supporters should not play the numbers game. Discrimination is wrong even if 90% of voters were to vote to prevent a group the right to marry because they choose to be Mormon or Muslim, or because they are infertile or "too old."

There has been a lot of screaming that Sacramento fails to live within its means, and the howlers are correct. But on Nov. 4, the voters will have their hands on the state checkbook. It's called ballot box budgeting -- when many Californians who normally cry about red ink become hypocrites, voting for nice-sounding proposals that further bloat the overspending. On election day, voters will have an opportunity to jack up annual state spending by at least $1.

At meetings across the nation, officials of Zimbabwe's ruling party have warned voters how they will know who casts ballots against longtime President Robert Mugabe in Friday's scheduled runoff election: serial numbers. The officials tell people that the ballot number will allow the ruling party to identify who has voted for the opposition so that they can be killed later, according to people who attended meetings in three neighborhoods around Harare, the capital.

Re "Torture began at the top," Opinion, June 18 Although I agree with the substance of Tim Rutten's Op-Ed article, his conclusion is mistaken. Torture is not a "policy." Torture is a crime. We may disagree on policy and make our grievances known at the ballot box, but crimes should be addressed by the justice system. Prosecuting these crimes would be the surest way to regain the respect of the community of nations and to make sure another administration will think long and hard before breaking the law. Michael Hittleman Los Angeles -- Rutten calls torture and lying to take us to war "policy mistakes."