KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Idaho voters approve gay marriage ban

Idaho voters approve gay marriage ban

BOISE, Idaho -  Idaho voters have approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Widespread support for the ban was evident in early returns Tuesday, with more than 70 percent of voters in favor of the amendment.

The amendment bans not only gay marriage but also any domestic legal union outside of traditional marriages. By approving the ban, Idaho voters joined residents in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin where similar measures were passed.

Meanwhile, votes were still being counted Tuesday night in three other measures on the Idaho ballot. Proposition Two, which pitted private property rights against the power of local governments to make land-use decisions, was headed toward a loss in early returns with 77 percent of voters casting no votes.

The race was closer on Proposition One, which called on lawmakers to increase school spending by $219 million a year. Just over 57 percent of voters were against the plan, and more than 42 percent were for it.

More than 58 percent of voters were in favor of a constitutional amendment designed to limit the use of money from the state's settlement with big tobacco companies to health-related purposes.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)