MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Gay rights advocates targeted Wisconsin as the one place they might be able to turn the tide of state constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.

It didn't happen.

Wisconsin is among seven states that voted to ban such marriages. Similar amendments have passed previously in all 20 states to consider them.

Voters in the state of Arizona however, defeated the amendment.

Wisconsin voters also took a stand in favor of the death penalty. referendum that asked whether the state should restore use of the death penalty in certain cases was approved by more than half of voters.

Both issues hit emotional hot buttons. But the death penalty measure was advisory only, meaning lawmakers and the governor would have to approve legislation to bring back the penalty that was abolished in the 1850s.