Big Fat Story
Gay-rights advocates prepare to get marriage on the ballot a second time.
Proposition 8 may have been a devastating blow to advocates for same-sex marriage, but it is hardly the end of the story. Already, gay-rights groups are preparing a push to put the issue back on the ballot in the 2010 election, when they hope a better motivated and more organized grassroots effort will lead to a repeal of the measure. Given that the vote was already close in 2008—52.3% to 47.7%—it's a plausible strategy, especially given that support for gay marriage has gained traction nationally in opinion polls since Prop 8 passed, and that several other states have either approved gay marriage or come close to doing so in recent months.
Photo: Robert Durell / AP Photo
Governor is pushing the issue in the Empire State.
While Californians dodge and parry over same-sex-marriage rights, New York is engaged in an equally fierce battle in its state legislature. Governor David Paterson is pushing lawmakers to pass a bill legalizing gay marriage, and while the legislation has support in the state assembly, the state senate is less enthused. But gay-marriage opponents are complaining that they lack the resources necessary to overcome efforts by gay-rights advocates. “Wake up! Where are you?” Assemblyman Dov Hikind, an opponent of gay marriage, told The New York Times. “It’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs, and you’re losing—big time.” A Siena poll released Tuesday found New Yorkers split over the issue, 46% to 46%.
Photo: Mike Groll / AP Photo
Since Prop 8, a cascade of states legalizing same-sex marriage.
While the outlook may have seemed bleak for gay-rights supporters in November, the mood has picked up considerably in the months since Proposition 8 passed. In a truly shocking case, gay marriage was ruled legal in Iowa by a judge, and key state lawmakers indicated that they would not seek to overturn the decision. In Maine, lawmakers approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, but opponents are racing to block the move by putting a referendum similar to Proposition 8 on the ballot. Vermont also recently began allowing same-sex couples to marry. And continuing the New England trend, New Hampshire lawmakers are close to passing a bill that would allow gay marriage as well.
Photo: Max Whittaker / Getty Images
The Future of Prop 8
Opponents of gay rights may have scored a victory in today's decision on Proposition 8, but the issue is hardly settled. Gay marriage is rapidly gaining popular and legal support throughout the country, and even California could reverse its ban on same-sex marriage as early as next year. By Benjamin Sarlin
State Department expands benefits to gay couples—will the military follow suit?
While legalizing gay marriage on a national level may be politically out of reach for now, gay-rights groups can set their sights on other goals for the federal government in the meantime. For example, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced that the State Department would give equal benefits to same-sex partners of American diplomats because, as Clinton said, “it’s the right thing to do.” Another federal issue that activists are targeting is the military's “Don't Ask Don't Tell” policy. While President Obama repeatedly pledged to allow gays to openly serve in the military during the 2008 campaign, he has been slow to press the issue in Congress, angering many of his supporters.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Utah Gov. John Huntsman, an Obama ambassador pick, supports civil unions.
The Republican Party has taken a more hard-line approach on a variety of issues since President Obama took office, so many were shocked when one of its most promising leaders—and a potential presidential candidate for 2012—came out in favor of expanding the rights of gay couples. Utah Governor John Huntsman, recently picked by President Obama to be the nation's ambassador to China, announced in February that he believed civil unions should be legal for all. "I believe in the traditional definition of marriage, but I also believe that we can do a better job in enhancing equal rights for more of our citizens," Huntsman told the Associated Press. Considering that only five short years ago, gay marriage was causing Democratic presidential hopefuls to scramble for cover, such a concession from a popular governor in one of the country's reddest states seems to signal a sea change.
Photo: Kent C. Horner / Getty Images
As polls show increasing support, a wedge issue loses its potency.
If lawmakers seem warmer to the idea of gay marriage lately, it might be because they know how to read the polls. Two recent surveys showed that a plurality of Americans support gay marriage, a stunning turnaround for a position considered a can't-miss wedge issue only five short years ago. In April, an ABC News-Washington Post poll showed support for gay marriage at 49%, versus 46% opposed. Meanwhile, a CBS/NYT poll showed support for same-sex marriage rights at 42%, support for civil unions at 25%, and opposition to any legal recognition at 28%. Not every poll sets support as high—a Quinnipiac survey from the same time showed Americans opposing gay marriage 55%-38%—but there is little doubt that public opinion is steadily trending in the direction of marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Photo: Max Whittaker / Getty Images
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The ruling today was a backwards step for a very repressed group. In addition to homosexuals, we als need to remember other repressed groups. I would like to see the federal government remember the global impoverished and do more to address global poverty for strategic and humanitarian reasons.
The Borgen Project has good info on the estimated cost of ending global poverty:
$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.
$550 billion: U.S. Defense budget.
It's not about politics...it's about bragging rights of personal sexual prefrences and flaunting it in the faces of those who don't agree.
Once again...it's not politics...it's about bragging rights of your personal sexual prerences and flaunting it in the face of those who don't agree.
Thank you.
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