Voters must decide questions on water, marriage, marijuana

Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000 | 10:24 a.m.

Nevada voters will get to make choices on same-sex marriage, fluoridated water and medicinal marijuana when they go to the polls Nov. 7.

Question 2 on the statewide ballot asks: Should the Nevada Constitution be changed to recognize marriages involving only male and female individuals? A group called the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage has been lobbying voters to answer yes.

State law already legalizes marriage only between members of the opposite sex. But coalition Chairman Richard Ziser, an unsuccessful 1998 Clark County School Board candidate, said the law may not prevent challenges from people of the same sex who were married in other states.

The Rev. Valerie Garrick of United Church of Christ opposes Question 2 because she said it discriminates against gay couples. The co-chairwoman of Equal Rights Nevada, a group formed to fight the ballot initiative, said she believes that the state constitution is no place for discriminatory language.

The issue has obvious religious overtones. Reform branches of organized religion tend to favor same-sex marriages whereas orthodox adherents are rigidly opposed.

If Question 2 passes, it must be approved again by majority vote and would appear on the November 2002 ballot. State law requires that proposed constitutional amendments be approved in two consecutive elections before taking effect.

Only Hawaii and Alaska have approved similar amendments.

Other statewide ballot initiatives are Questions 1 and 9 -- there are no Questions 3 through 8.

Medical marijuana

Question 9, the marijuana initiative that was approved by 59 percent of Nevadans in 1998, will be added to the state constitution if it passes again Nov. 7. Question 9 is so numbered because it had that number two years ago.

The initiative would legalize possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes with physician approval. Question 9 also would require parental consent for minors and would authorize "appropriate methods" of supplying it to patients.

Polls indicate the measure should pass easily.

Question 9 opponents include Metro Police, Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association and the Police and Fire Executives of Southern Nevada.

Aside from concerns that marijuana causes cancer and other health problems is the issue of whether the initiative will hold up legally. The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a similar California measure a blow by ruling against a marijuana distribution club in Oakland, Calif.

State investment

Question 1, on the ballot for the first time, would amend the Nevada Constitution to allow state money to be invested in companies to promote economic diversification.

The measure, placed on the ballot by the 1999 Legislature, would permit investments only when the state can expect "a reasonable rate of return." Such investments would require approval by two-thirds of the Senate and Assembly and also by the governor.

But the conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute of Reno and the Nevada Taxpayers Association oppose the measure.

Fluoride question

The only countywide initiative, also known as Question 1, is about the fluoride that has been added to local drinking water since March 1. This is a tricky ballot question where a "yes" vote means the voter wishes to remove fluoride and a "no" vote would be to retain fluoridation.

Those who support the initiative, meaning they want to get rid of the fluoride, include Summerlin resident Robert Hall, president of the Nevada Environmental Coalition. Hall said many scientists believe fluoride is a "systemic poison."

Initiative opponents include Citizens for Healthy Smiles, Nevada Medical Association and Nevada Dental Association.

City initiatives

The cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City have separate ballot questions.

Las Vegas residents are being asked to consider whether to levy an additional 9.5 cents in property taxes per $100 of assessed valuation over the next 30 years to help pay for four fire stations, station improvements, fire vehicles and 113 firefighters, paramedics and support staff. The cost works out to $33.25 annually for owners of $100,000 homes.

Henderson voters are faced with an initiative that would add 24 cents in property taxes per $100 of assessed valuation over 30 years to improve police and fire protection. That translates to $84 a year for the owner of a $100,000 home.

In Boulder City the issue is whether to spend an existing $3.5 million in the Capital Improvement Fund on streets.