Registration Deadline Nears for Election with Many Controversial Propositions

Election day is three weeks away and people who wish to participate in the presidential and state elections must register by Monday.While many voters will turn out to vote for president, 12 state propositions will also appear on the ballot alongside a few local measures.

A few controversial propositions are 8, 5 and Measure R.

Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that proposes limiting marriage to a man and a woman, is the most debated proposition on the ballot.

"The fight for gay marriage is a relatively recent issue in the gay and lesbian community," said Hugo Schwyzer, social science professor who is against the proposition. "The gay rights movement started with a fight to decriminalize same sex sexual behavior.

"It wasn't until 2004 that gay behavior was decriminalized in all states," said Schwyzer.

The new issue of gay marriage is seven years old in California.

In 2001, Proposition 22, which added a law that made only marriage between a man and woman valid in California, passed with 61 percent voter approval.

However the California Supreme Court, in a 4-to-3 vote, overturned this law. The judges stated that Proposition 22 violated the equal protection clause of the state Constitution.

Proponents of the proposition claim that this is not an attack on the gay community and that domestic partnerships provide equal protection for gay couples.

"Domestic partnerships fill the spot of gay marriage," said Barbara Miller, a social science professor who supports the proposition. "It was a solved problem," she added.

Schwyzer and opponents to Proposition 8 disagree with such arguments and do not believe that domestic partnerships and marriage are equal.

"The important difference is cultural. We talk about marriage as an ideal, a pledging of a life commitment, in fact, it is the ultimate commitment that still inspires awe," said Schwyzer.

Proponents have been fighting to keep the traditional values of marriage from changing.

"In another 20 years when all us traditionalists are gone, gay marriage will be legal," said Miller.

Proposition 5, which proposes to expand drug treatment as an alternative to prison time for drug offenders, has not been as heavily advertised.

"You do not get much treatment in jail," said Jo Ann Buczo, coordinator for student health services and a former nurse practitioner at a drug treatment facility, "but working with professionals would be a better opportunity."

Many opponents of the proposition claim it will create a revolving door for drug dealers allowing them to escape prison sentences.

However the proposition claims to be only an expansion of proposition 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Protection Act of 2000, which was approved by 61 percent of the voters.

Measure R proposes increasing sales tax in Los Angeles County by half a cent in order to raise funds for public transportation projects.

The increase to 8.75 percent will fund rail expansions, street improvements and help reduce traffic.

Opponents of the measure criticize the timing of the sales tax increasing since we are in an economic crisis.

Metro claims however that the tax increase will cost the average citizen only an extra $25 a year.

Long Beach newspapers have argued that Measure R only plans improvements within the city of LA, spending most of the funds in the subway to the sea project, which will expand the red line through Westwood and into Santa Monica.

To register, go to www.sos.gov.ca or find a physical form in public libraries, post offices, and many places around campus.