The 4 strangest ballot initiatives of the 2012 elections
Next Tuesday, gay marriage, abortion, and gay marriage will be on ballots in some states. In others, condoms, the Grand Canyon, and the right to fish will be on the line
Next Tuesday, ballots across the nation will be larded with weighty, controversial ballot initiatives asking voters to decide on everything from abortion to gay marriage to legalized marijuana. Some of the questions are a little more quirky, however. Here, four of the most surprising issues that will be put to a vote:
1. Mandatory condoms in porn
Voters in Los Angeles County will be asked to weigh in on a fraught issue in the area's infamous adult-film business, one of SoCal's most lucrative industries: Whether its stars should be required to use condoms on-camera. The Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act — also known as Measure B — wound up on the ballot after activists took the local health department to court to require that condoms be used in adult movies shot in L.A. to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. "Self regulation has failed miserably when it comes to the porn industry," says Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Film producers aren't giving up without a fight. "This isn't the government's place," says Steven Hirsch of Vivid Entertainment, a leading maker of XXX fare. "In a time when we have huge budget deficits, [county officials] are going to take their time and energy to figure out how to police an industry that does a fine job of policing itself."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Ownership of the Grand Canyon
Thanks to pressure from state Republicans, Arizona voters will be asked to make a controversial decision that might interest millions of vacationers: Namely, whether millions of acres, including the Grand Canyon, should remain in the hands of the federal government, or become the property of the residents of Arizona. The measure, Proposition 120, is part of the so-called sagebrush revolt being waged by Republicans in the West seeking to regain control of vast expanses of land now under the aegis of various federal agencies. The ballot initiative, if passed, will amend the state's constitution to declare Arizona's sovereignty over the "air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife, and other natural resources within the state's boundaries." Republicans say federal ownership of the land is hampering the state's ability to fuel its own economy. But detractors say the state is already overburdened: "They can't even fund and ensure that their [state] parks are protected, so how they would take on an additional 25 to 30 million acres of land is a big question mark," Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, tells Reuters.
3. The right to go fishing or trapping
Voters in Nebraska and Wyoming will have the chance to amend their states' constitutions to establish a right to fish and hunt. Four states passed similar initiatives in 2010. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Idaho have been trying to institute a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of fishers, hunters, and trappers against campaigns by animal rights groups, and they finally got the question on the ballot this year. "The trappers were the very first people who came into our state," says Republican state Sen. Lee Heider, who led the effort. "It is a heritage that Idahoans still enjoy." Animal rights groups say the initiative goes too far. "A surprising number of the hunters told us they don't like trapping," says Greg Moore of Idahoans Against Trapping. "Once people learn about it, they are often horrified by it."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
4. Equal protection... for pets
"There are no absurdities this year to match, say, Oklahoma's 2010 vote (later struck down) to ban courts from using sharia law in their deliberations," says The Economist. "But fans of American electoral arcana can turn to North Dakota, where Measure 5 takes aim at those who inflict harm on cats, dogs, or horses (cow-tippers seem safe, for now); and to Oregon, where Measure 78 promises improvements to the constitution’s spelling and grammar. And they say voting changes nothing."
Sources: Associated Press, Economist, Reason, Reuters
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published