Voters Deciding on Gay Rights Measures Today

It's Election Day in some parts of the country. New governors will be selected in New Jersey and Virginia and a new mayor in New York City.

Voters in five cities will decide gay rights measures. Conservatives put many of them on ballots. They hope to stop or roll back so-called civil rights gains by homosexuals.

Three referendums will take place in Michigan where proposed charter amendments in Traverse City and Kalamazoo would prohibit policies granting "protected status" based on sexual orientation. In Miami Beach, a referendum asks whether unmarried partners of city employees should get medical benefits.

In most cases when the people are allowed to decide these issues they vote for traditional relationships and against the gay rights agenda. That's what has happened in 14 out of 19 initiatives on municipal ballots since 1998. Let's hope today's election adds to the decisions for common sense and decency.