HARTFORD, Conn. -- Voters in Connecticut are deciding whether to call a convention to amend the state's constitution, a move opponents of gay marriage hope to use to keep that issue alive.
With 25 percent of precincts reporting, voters were rejecting the proposal, 61 percent to 39 percent.
Connecticut voters are asked every 20 years whether the state should hold a convention during which delegates can rewrite the entire constitution.
Proponents hope to pass an amendment that would allow citizens the opportunity to bypass the Legislature and petition for changes in state law through direct ballot initiatives
They said they view it as the easiest path toward overturning last month's state Supreme Court ruling that found banning gay marriage unconstitutional. Connecticut is the third state, after Massachusetts and California, to offer gay marriage, with the first unions scheduled as early as Nov. 12.
Others hope to use initiative and referendum to amend the state's eminent domain laws, cap property taxes, impose term limits or impose mandatory life sentences for certain violent crimes.
Opponents point out the constitution can be more easily amended through legislation, a process they said weeds out fringe issues.
http://www.wfsb.com/politics/17894516/detail.html
With 25 percent of precincts reporting, voters were rejecting the proposal, 61 percent to 39 percent.
Connecticut voters are asked every 20 years whether the state should hold a convention during which delegates can rewrite the entire constitution.
Proponents hope to pass an amendment that would allow citizens the opportunity to bypass the Legislature and petition for changes in state law through direct ballot initiatives
They said they view it as the easiest path toward overturning last month's state Supreme Court ruling that found banning gay marriage unconstitutional. Connecticut is the third state, after Massachusetts and California, to offer gay marriage, with the first unions scheduled as early as Nov. 12.
Others hope to use initiative and referendum to amend the state's eminent domain laws, cap property taxes, impose term limits or impose mandatory life sentences for certain violent crimes.
Opponents point out the constitution can be more easily amended through legislation, a process they said weeds out fringe issues.
http://www.wfsb.com/politics/17894516/detail.html
