Monday, May 05, 2008

Ballot Bowl '08

Stem cells is a no-go. And so is the much hyped affirmative action initiative.

Yesterday was the deadline to submit signatures for initiatives to be placed on Missouri's 2008 ballot.

A group (lead by California businessman Ward Connerly) seeking to bar many state affirmative action programs missed the deadline. Supporters from four groups angling to get their initiative
petitions on the November ballot did hit the deadline.


A group wanting to restrict the use of eminent domain and another wanting to require the use of more renewable energy came within 15 minutes of each other.

Also, petitions to allow home health care providers to unionize and to repeal the state's cap on gambling losses while barring the construction of new casinos were submitted.

The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures issued this statement on the anti-embryonic stem cell initiative: "The citizens of Missouri won an important victory Sunday when anti-stem cell activists failed to collect enough signatures to place on the November ballot their dangerous proposal. It would have jeopardized Missourians’ right to access federally approved research, therapies and cures – a constitutional right approved by Missouri voters only 18 months ago. No matter the rationale these opponents of stem cell research publicly parade, the reality is clear: Public support just wasn’t there," said Jim Goodwin in a statement.

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