Burnt Orange Report

State Round-Up

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

"If gay marriage is a threat to your marriage, then your marriage sucked anyway." -quote of the day

Statewide Early Voting Numbers (for the top 15 counties by population) are now posted at the Secretary of State's website here. The average for the first day of voting was .3% which was exceeded by a large degree by Williamson and Travis County (Travis leading the way). This also means that the UT-Austin voting location cast 3% of the vote for the top 15 counties combined yesterday. Of course, I should remind you that one on campus precinct had the highest turnout in all of Travis County in the 2004 election with 99.7% turnout.

Here's a round-up of the day's coverage of the big news yesterday that passing Proposition 2 has the potential to void marriage in Texas. (Save Texas Marriage)

Houston Chronicle: "That in the hands of an activist judge could lead to the ruin of my marriage and every other marriage in this state because the status that is most identical to marriage is obviously marriage itself," said Trampes Crow, a graduate student at the University of Texas and a former army captain who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

El Paso Times: All 118,000 marriages in El Paso County could be jeopardized by a proposed amendment to the Texas Constitution banning same-sex unions, a group opposed to the measure said Monday.

"We have an awful lot to lose emotionally and financially with this kind of irresponsible legislation," said Austin resident Martha Cotera, who has been married to her husband, Juan, for 42 years.

Some El Paso lawyers agreed with the anti-amendment group Save Texas Marriage that wording in the proposed amendment could have unintended consequences.

Fort Worth Star Telegram: It's that language that opponents say could lead to a legal challenge of traditional marriage -- common law or otherwise.

Austin American Statesman: "I do" could become "by golly, we didn't" for more than 4 million married couples in Texas if voters approve a clumsily worded proposed constitutional amendment, opponents said Monday.

Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is in favor of the Amendment, saying Voting in favor of Proposition 2 is a vote to protect a basic human union, so critically important to the common good of society, from being altered in its structure and purpose.

Someone get him a memo to let him know that voting in favor of Prop 2 could profoundly alter the structure and purpose of this basic human union, whereas voting against it at least maintains the status quo.