Marriage Equality
A Happy Anniversary to Gay Marriage in Connecticut
Published November 12, 2009 @ 02:45PM PT
Today is particularly special for 1,700 same-sex couples in the state of Connecticut. That's because these folks have been able to get married thanks to a Connecticut Supreme Court decision 365 days ago that said the state's constitution called for equal rights, including equal marriage rights, for gays and lesbians. Happy Anniversary, gay marriage.
To honor today's one-year anniversary, groups that fought hard for marriage equality in Connecticut, including Love Makes a Family and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, held a rally on the steps of the State Capitol. It's sort of a fitting end for Love Makes a Family, which will be shutting its doors at the end of this month. Guess that means they did such a good job fighting for their cause, that they were able to put themselves out of business.
November is actually an historic month for gay marriage. In addition to this Connecticut anniversary, the state of Massachusetts also holds November as the month where its court case -- Goodridge v. Department of Public Health -- made the state the first in the union to recognize marriage equality.
Three States Eye Overturning Bans on Same-Sex Marriage
Published November 12, 2009 @ 11:51AM PT
What do Michigan, Ohio and Oregon have in common? Well, in addition to having the really delightful acronym, MOO, they are all three states where rumblings are afoot to overturn constitutional bans on gay marriage.
Overturning bans in these three states is an endeavor that's years away, and will be at the mercy of either state legislators or voters at the ballot box. But the fact that there's now space in the marketplace of ideas to push for overturning these bans -- all of which were just enacted within the past five years -- is a sign that marriage equality advocates have come a long way since the darkest days of this decade when gay marriage bans were as popular as ice cream. What a difference a few years can make.
Catholic Church Ready to Throw Homeless Under Bus in Order to Stop Gay Marriage
Published November 12, 2009 @ 06:15AM PT
The Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. has issued an ultimatum to the District's city council: approve same-sex marriage, and the Church will stop serving the city's disadvantaged, including the homeless.
Guess that Catholic Church commitment to the poor is only skin deep. For the Catholic Church to threaten the lives of homeless people and others who depend on church social services just to gain political points on the issue of gay marriage is sad, sorry, and a sign that no religious instutition in the country is willing to stand in the way of civil rights for gays and lesbians more than the Catholic Church.
The temper tantrum being thrown by the D.C. Church is being portrayed as a direct threat to the Washington, D.C. City Council. Listen to us, the church says, or we'll throw this city's poor and homeless in front of the closest Metro train.
David Paterson's Gay Marriage Gamble
Published November 09, 2009 @ 06:54AM PT
With his approval ratings stuck somewhere between Dick Cheney and botulism, New York Governor David Paterson is staking it all on the line with a push this week to have the New York State Senate address the issue of marriage equality. Paterson has placed a gay marriage vote before state senators, scheduled for tomorrow, that could make New York the next state to recognize marriage equality.
Paterson himself said that he was inspired by the Maine vote last week, which rescinded marriage rights for same-sex couples in that state.
"I think that the public referendum in Maine should inspire us that there's more work to do, more persuasion to be made, more understanding to be reached, and more sensitivity to be displayed, and those of us who have been a catalyst for marriage equality have to regroup and work harder," Paterson said, in an interview with Corey Johnson and Andy Towle.
Negotiations are expected to go into the wee hours of the night tonight as Democratic lawmakers decide whether to push for a vote or not. Advocates estimate that they have 25 votes to support marriage equality. They need about six more to ensure that the marriage equality bill can pass.
Oh, and one great thing about New York: they don't have a referendum process, meaning that anti-gay activists and the Catholic Church can't put the question of civil rights for gays and lesbians on a ballot. All the more reason why tomorrow's vote will be historic if it happens.
New Jersey's Window of Opportunity for Marriage Equality
Published November 05, 2009 @ 05:18AM PT
The marriage equality debate sure moves fast and furious these days. Just days after losing a heartbreaking vote in Maine over the issue, all eyes, ears and phone calls to legislators are heading to New Jersey, where the state has the tiniest window of opportunity to pass a marriage equality bill that will recognize full civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
Why is that window so small? Because on Election Day, New Jersey voters gave the boot to their current governor, and marriage equality supporter, Jon Corzine. His replacement, Gov.-Elect Chris Christie, thinks that gay marriage is the devil.
So now there's just a two-month window while Gov. Corzine wraps up a lame duck legislative session for marriage equality to pass. And the state's leading LGBT rights organization, Garden State Equality, is coming out like gangbusters to make sure that over the next eight weeks, New Jersey legislators hear loud and clear that the state needs marriage equality legislation to truly value the equal rights for all of its citizens. That includes a wave of television advertisements that launched on Election night, describing how New Jersey same-sex couples lose out with no marriage rights.
The Bradley Effect on Gay Marriage Polls
Published November 04, 2009 @ 08:57AM PT
Polling same-sex marriage is always tricky. Many activists are feeling a little burned this morning after a stinging defeat in Maine that rescinded marriage rights for same-sex couples. In the lead up to the vote, polls showed everything from a tied race to marriage equality supporters leading. It's just a shame that the end results didn't match up with some of the pre-election polls.
Marriage equality lost in Maine by about four percent. As Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight writes, that final total is not reflective of where most activists thought the race was heading. Silver himself said that he thought there was only a 30 percent chance of marriage equality failing in Maine. So what went wrong?
We'll know more in the coming days, but at first glance it appears that there could be a Bradley Effect at play in the polling.
The Bradley Effect was a term coined after the 1982 California Governor's race where an African-American candidate named Tom Bradley lost to a white candidate, despite being ahead in most polls. It's a term that generally refers to the fact that in polling questions, people will typically answer how they think the pollster or society wants them to answer, rather than how they really feel (and more importantly, how they intend to vote).
President Obama is Not to Blame for Marriage Equality's Loss in Maine
Published November 04, 2009 @ 08:19AM PT
I knew this would happen: folks would blame President Obama for our loss in Maine last night. My response: it’s not his fault, it’s ours.
We were the people who came up with the commercials. We plotted the strategy. We met people on the ground, knocked on doors. So why, when we lose, do we blame someone who had nothing to do with our campaign?
If you’re angry that Obama didn’t support us, that’s one thing, but blaming him for our loss is another. That’s almost like saying then V.P. Al Gore would’ve won the 2000 presidential election had Ralph Nader not run; it just doesn’t make sense.
It’s time that the gay community started fighting the fight and not blaming others when we lose.
Garden State Equality’s decision to immediately run pro-marriage advertisements following the election of Republican Chris Christie is a great move. Get out first. Don’t wait and be reactive, on the defensive. Why should we be waiting until people challenge our rights in each state. Let’s get out there now and fight for our rights!
