CALIFORNIA has voted to ban same-sex marriages, overturning a right which the state gave to gays and lesbians only months ago.

Voters in Florida and Arizona also outlawed gay marriages in polls that coincided with the presidential elections, adding to the list of dozens of states with similar laws.

It came on the day the US elected its first black president, Barack Obama, who won California and Florida.

Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, which campaigned for the anti-gay marriage measures, said the votes signalled that Mr Obama's mandate was for economic policy, "not one to implement a radical social policy".

Mr Perkins said: "What lost last night was the Republican Party, but it was not a rejection of traditional or moral values, because you have two states that voted for Barack Obama - Florida and California - that also passed the marriage amendments."

California's supreme court had declared same-sex marriage a right in May, prompting a flood of weddings.

But the state's voters changed its constitution to rescind the right after one of the most expensive ballot campaigns in history, in which both sides combined raised roughly $70million (£43million).

Of the three measures to ban gay marriages, California's "proposition eight" was the most watched as the state is the most populous and overturned a court-approved right. The state is also perceived as a political and cultural leader.

The move was greeted with dismay by activists and celebrities. Ellen DeGeneres said she was "saddened beyond belief" by the passage of the constitutional amendment.

The talk show host said that she, "like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step toward equality" by electing Barack Obama as President. Mr Obama supports civil unions, which are legal in other US states, but opposes same-sex marriages.

Legal challenges were yesterday launched against the California ban and debates also started on whether existing same-sex marriages would be recognised. Dan Schur of the University of Southern California said the high turnout for Mr Obama may have helped pass proposition eight.

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