AMENDMENT PASSES
 GAY MARRIAGE BAN WINS 70% OF VOTEBY SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS, JOE RODRIGUEZ AND STEVE PAINTERThe Wichita EagleKansans voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions, a result supporters hailed as a rousing endorsement of traditional marriage. More than 550,000 people approved the measure by more than a 2-1 ratio, making Kansas the 18th state to ban gay marriage in its constitution.
"We felt all along that Kansans would do the right thing, so we're not surprised how they voted," said the Rev. Joe Wright, senior pastor at Wichita's Central Christian Church and a leading proponent of the amendment.
"We are just thrilled with the overwhelming numbers."
Opponents, meanwhile, called the election "merely the beginning of the fight for fairness in this state," pledging to challenge the measure in courts.
"One thing I can promise you is that the voices of fairness in this state will not be silenced," said Bruce Ney, chairman of Kansans for Fairness, a Topeka-based coalition of gay and civil-rights groups.
"We will not stand by and let thousands of our neighbors, friends and relatives live as second-class citizens."
Wright, part of a Christian conservative movement that began pushing for the amendment last year, said amendment supporters may now turn their attention to other issues such as gambling, evolution and abortion.
He said he expects the marriage amendment to face court challenges, but isn't too concerned.
He said the amendment bolsters a state law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and is the most sure-fire way to prevent courts from granting marital rights to gay and lesbian couples.
"In no other state has it been overturned when it has been a constitutional change like this," he said.
The Rev. Terry Fox, pastor of Wichita's Immanuel Baptist Church and another leading supporter of the amendment, said the amendment has "taken it out of the hands of some liberal activist judge in the state of Kansas.
"It has... put teeth in the law. It has strengthened the law," he said.
Local opponents were disappointed but not surprised by the results.
Patrick Hutchison, chairman of Equality Kansas, a gay-rights group based in Wichita, said the group plans to use Tuesday's vote as a call to unite and work harder on other issues, including anti-discrimination policies, hate-crimes legislation and adoption laws.
"There's a whole slew of things" the group plans to fight for, Hutchison said.
So far, every state that has put a gay-marriage ban to voters has seen it pass by a wide margin. Mississippi's amendment garnered 86 percent of the vote last year; Oklahoma's, 76 percent; and Missouri's, 71 percent.
In Kansas, 70 percent of voters cast their ballots for the amendment, passing it by 170,000 votes.
The majority of voters in only one county -- Douglas County, home to Lawrence and the University of Kansas -- appeared to vote no in unofficial results.
The Kansas amendment has two parts. One defines marriage as a contract between one man and one woman. The other explains that no other relationship is entitled to the "rights or incidents of marriage."
Throughout the campaign, opponents of the amendment said it goes beyond banning gay marriage and could call into question legal contracts that recreate rights reserved for married couples.
Thomas Witt, field organizer for Equality Kansas, said it will be up to the courts to interpret that second part of the amendment.
"The people who push this complain about activist un-elected judges, but the only people who are going to be able to figure this out now are un-elected judges," Witt said.
"We don't know what's going to happen to Paragraph B, but we do know that it's basically going to give license to any petty official who doesn't like gay families to discriminate."
Potential repercussions of the amendment, which will likely take effect April 29, are hard to gauge. But both sides say the Kansas amendment will likely face court challenges.
Ney, of Kansans for Fairness, said litigation may take a while to play out, as businesses and government agencies decide how to react. He noted a lawsuit filed Monday in Michigan that challenges the termination of domestic-partner benefits.
Ney said lawsuits could be filed if a hospital questions an unmarried couple's medical power of attorney, for example. Or, a gay couple could seek a marriage license and force the issue into the courts.
"It will happen," Ney said.
Voters in 13 states approved constitutional gay marriage bans last year, joining four others. Similar proposals will be on the ballot next year in Alabama, South Dakota and Tennessee.
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale said the ballot measure drew more people to the polls. He said about 38 percent of registered voters voted Tuesday, significantly more than normally vote during an off-year spring election.
Some local voters, like Nancy Campbell of Wichita, saw the amendment as a way to protect the traditional definition of marriage.
"I believe that God has created marriage," said Campbell, 41, a teacher and mother of three. "We are believers and go by how the Bible says things should be done."
Among the amendment's opponents is Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who said she supports the existing state law and views it as sufficient.
Billy Williams, a retired postal worker from Wichita, agreed. He voted against the amendment.
"I voted no because it is so discriminating," Williams said. "Everyone needs companionship every once in a while. As you get older, you don't want to be by yourself."
About 30 amendment supporters gathered Tuesday night at a northeast Wichita hotel to watch the results.
"What it (the election) has done is it shows what can happen when all denominations, when the entire body of Christ comes together for a cause," Fox said.
jesus_landers,
well done. | 
