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Several states are moving toward same-sex marriage in the US

Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Uncategorized No Responses »

May 012013

(Blogmensgo, May 1, 2013) Without waiting for the Federal Supreme Court of the United States to rule on the constitutionality of gay marriage and the unconstitutionality of the ban, several States of the Union are preparing to legislate in favor of marriage gay.

To date, only nine states plus the Federal Capital explicitly allow marriages between persons of the same sex, as shown in this very telling map states . In chronological order: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington DC, New York, Washington, Maryland, Maine.

Click to open link to ©NCSL

Gay marriage in 2012 collected more positive opinions than eight years ago in all states, according to a study published in April 2013 by the Williams Institute ( summary | Full Text PDF). Positive views are in the majority in 12 states and the territory of the capital and are five points or less than a majority in 13 other states.

We find below a survey of states where the legalization of gay marriage seems imminent, likely in the longer term, a little uncertain or just a few light years less than last year. It begins with “The biggest little state in the Union “, ie Rhode Island (where Kennedy and I have studied, but not in the same college) and then continues alphabetically.

Rhode Island legalizes gay marriage

Rhode Island is likely to become the tenth U.S. state to legalize marriage between same sex.The smallest state in the Union was also one of the six states of New England have not yet done so. The anomaly should be rectified shortly in this Catholic bastion where parliamentarians invariably push the prospect of gay marriage almost every year since 1997.

Senators were initially rejected (by 28 votes against 10) submit a proposal to the gay marriage referendum. The path will therefore by law. From the examination phase in committee, five Republican senators all voted in favor of gay marriage (and paradoxically, 10 of the 31 Democratic senators voted against). Note that Paiva Weed, President of the Senate and fierce opponent of gay marriage, has elegantly said she would not this time obstructing the bill – before its commitments.

The Rhode Island Senate then passed a law authorizing the marriage of same-sex couples, with 26 votes against 12, 24 April 2013. The Senate text was presented by a lesbian senator, Donna Nusselbush. Now he must return to second reading in the House, which had passed the text in January 2013, by 51 votes against 19, before the Senate will introduce amendments.The House of Representatives is itself headed by an openly gay MP, Gordon Fox.

The final adoption of the law on gay marriage is expected in early May 2013. Governor Lincoln Chafee, a staunch supporter of gay marriage, plans to sign soon after its formal adoption of future legislation which will come into force on 1 ^st August 2013.

Click to open link to ©Williams Institute

The Senate Delaware will rule on gay marriage

Delaware has adopted a PACS in 2012. And from April 23, 2013, by 23 votes against 18, the House of Representatives of Delaware validated a law legalizing gay marriage.

Once the text has been passed by the Senate, it will be forwarded for ratification to Democratic Gov. Jack Markell, who advocates for gay marriage.

Illinois: it only needs a few votes

This is the February 14, 2013, the day of Valentine’s Day, the Illinois senators voted in favor of gay marriage.

The text must now be approved by the House, but it still lacks a few votes for the House of Representatives legalize marriage between same sex.

The final vote may have to wait until the next parliamentary session. As for Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, he is in favor of gay marriage.

Minnesota, perhaps soon

In November 2012, voters had voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The House and Senate have both recently approved in committee a bill on gay marriage. The text should now move in plenary before both Houses of Parliament.

No date for the legalization of gay marriage is not yet defined, but it could be done in 2013.Would not that interesting for economic benefits approached.

Nevada, at a rate of Senator

The Nevada Senate passed a constitutional amendment removing the prohibition of marriage against same-sex couples, 22 April 2013, by 12 votes against 9. In contrast, the same Senate rejected an amendment to recognize the legality of gay marriage.

The constitutional amendment must now be confirmed by the Parliament and be voted jointly by the Senate and the Assembly in 2015, and finally be approved by referendum in 2016.

For the record, Sen. Kelvin Atkinson took the Senate debate to come out to the amazement of his colleagues. The formulation of his coming out was brief: “I’m black. I’m gay. “

New Jersey: pussyfooting

Republican Gov. Chris Christie vetoed, February 17, 2012, a law on gay marriage by saying it should first change the Constitution.

A year later, the Parliament did not find a sufficient majority for a constitutional amendment in favor of gay marriage. New Jersey could therefore, as suggested by its governor, addressing the issue of gay marriage by referendum.

New Mexico is sticking to his neither-nor

New Mexico remains the only State having ruled one way or the other, or on the issue of gay marriage, or on the PACS.

Only two factors tip the balance in the camp of not . In 2012 gay marriage gathered that 47% support in New Mexico opinion, but the figure is up nine points from 2004, according to theWilliams Institute , think tank serving on the faculty of law of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Another negative factor is that the requested administrative forms to prospective spouses must be co-signed by a man and a woman.

In 2004, an employee of the civil status of Albuquerque took the legal vacuum – considering an administrative form has no force of law – to accept marriage applications 64 gay couples in a single day. His superiors had sued him (before abandoning it shortly after) and no gay marriage has been celebrated in New Mexico.

In March 2013, the Democratic mayor of Santa Fe issued a resolution stating that gay marriage was legal under the law of New Mexico. Resolution enacted by David Coss therefore invites the staff to allow civil marriages between persons of the same sex.

Two lesbians couples, including Kim Kiel and Rose Griego (married for nine years) come to them to sue the employee of a registry office near Albuquerque, arguing that the legal vacuum is not likely to prevent same-sex marriages as they are not expressly prohibited by the Constitution or by law.

Parliament, however, has worked hard on the issue, in 1996, but failed to vote for a specific law. The bills were once hostile to gay marriage, and they are favorable for about eight years.

Oregon, perhaps in 2014

A 2004 referendum banned the celebration of same-sex marriages.

Governor John Kitzhaber and many parliamentarians are trying to reverse the situation. They call for the holding of a referendum in 2014 in order to validate a constitutional amendment in favor of gay marriage.

Texas wants to get out of the Middle Ages

If my memory is correct, a Senate committee recently approved unanimously by the five members (three Republicans) a motion to suppress homosexual relationships from its penal code. A bit like just done Montana (see our article of 19 April 2013 ).

This regulation was declared unconstitutional in 2003 or 2004 by the Texas Supreme Court and was not applied since then (again I quote from memory). It therefore would not legalize gay marriage, but to a legal foothold in the twenty-first century.

This article has been translated from our French blog, to view the original, click here.

Philca & Matt / MensGo

(via the entire American press 24 to 26 April 2013, including Windy City Media Group , USA Today , ABC News and Business Week )

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Americans increasingly support gay marriage

Gay Marriage, Gay Rights 1 Response »

Dec 122012

(Blogmensgo, 12 December 2012) Some 48% of Americans say they support same-sex marriage and 46% opposed, according to a survey conducted by the polling institute of Quinnipiac University (Connecticut) and made public on 5 December 2012. In 2008, the same survey noted 36% in favor and 55% of unfavorable opinions.

Results, click to enlarge (DK / NA = Do not know / not applicable). ©Quinnipiac.edu

The most significant change in four years is a credit to the male population. While men remain mostly hostile to gay marriage, but today 50% against 61% in 2008. The proportion of male with a favorable opinion grew by 31% in 2008 to 43% in 2012.

The Americans are slightly more favorable to gay marriage (52% for, 42% against) than their male counterparts.

Despite the hostility of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “White Catholics” are 49% in favor to marriage between persons of the same sex, against 43% unfavorable opinions. The score is much more pronounced among “white Protestants”, with 63% of negative opinions against 32% in favor.

The portion of the 18-29 shows a score almost reversed, again with a big gap between pro (63%) and anti (35%).

In October 2011, a similar poll by the Pew Research Center accredited the pro and anti 46% to 44%.

methodology

Omnibus survey conducted by telephone from November 28 to December 3, 2012, with 1,940 voters spread across the United States. The announced margin of error is ± 2.2%.

Comment. The glass is half empty (still very controversial topic), but it is mostly half full (progression sharp and fast!)

This article has been translated from our French blog, to view the original, click here.

Philca & Matt / MensGo

(via all the press on 5 December 2012, including Businessweek, AFP and Le Figaro)

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7% of same-sex marriages in the State of New York

Gay Marriage, Gay Rights No Responses »

Mar 092012

(Blogmensgo, March 9th, 2012) Of the 34,000 marriages in the State of NewYork since the legalization of gay marriage on July 24, 2011, approximately 7% (2,376) marriages, correspond to unions between same sex couples. This statistic – which runs to 31 January 2012 and does not include the City of New York – comes from the New York Department of Health, but it is certainly lower than reality because 20% of married couples do not specify the sex of their spouse.

The statistics vary greatly from one municipality to another. In the town of Woodstock, for example, a third of marriages involved 50 gay couples most of whom were married on the same day the state legalized marriage between same sex couples. However, the town of Deerpark has formalized only 1 gay marriage out of 19.

Analysts estimate that the official average of 7% is a good figure, and this for two reasons: this statistic includes all the land areas of the state without including the City of New York, which is also the most populated of the State, and it comes just six months after the legalization of marriage between same sex couple (see our article of 30 July 2011).

Opinions differ, however, on at least two points: the level of acceptance of gay marriage in the state and the rate of non-acceptance of gay marriage by homosexuals themselves. In both cases, it is difficult to hazard any figures for lack of specific statistics.

New York in July 2011 was the sixth state with legalized gay marriage, after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington City (the federal capital is located in the District of Columbia, which not statehood).There are also two other states that have legalized gay marriage in February 2012: Washington State (Feb. 8) and Maryland (Feb. 23, effective perhaps in the fall of 2012). New Jersey could soon become the ninth U.S. state to legalize marriage between same sex couples, provided that the Governor Chris Christie reconsiders the veto against the law passed on 16 and 17 February 2012.

In the State of New York, gay marriage revives the church in Kingston

The legalization of gay marriage in the State of New York manages the affairs of Paul Joffe, who saw his church in Kingston collapse and had even put it up for sale shortly before the promulgation of the law on gay marriage. The pastor of the church immediately converted Wurts Street and celebrated here essentially with all denominations together, including same sex marriages.

Renamed Celebration Wedding Chapel, the church received three to five marriage applications every week and more than half of the Unions are committed same-sex. Candidates must now book a year in advance.

Maryland wants to be a husband-land

Homosexual couples in Maryland did not wait for the legalization of gay marriage in their state to get married. A few miles to Washington was sufficient to formalize their commitment.

In Maryland its still valid because they recognize any union of its nationals legally completed in another state. Including in the city of Washington and the District of Columbia, although these entities are administratively attached to Maryland.

The legalization of gay marriage in Maryland will not take effect until next fall, even though Governor Martin O’Malley promised gay marriage on 1 March 2012. That is it will be up to voters to decide, on the occasion of a referendum in November 2012, the text adopted in February by a short majority in the Senate (25 votes against 22).

Where applicable, the rights of married heterosexual couples in Maryland are aligned with those of heterosexual married couples. Some 240 special benefits reserved for married heterosexuals could well be won at the referendum. This is also why many couples choose to Maryland to marry in another state: in doing so they have the same rights as heterosexual spouses.

Meanwhile the Supreme Court

It is now in the District of Columbia where it has recorded the highest proportion of gay households in the U.S: of about 1000 households, there is on average 18.08 homosexual households, in comparison to 5.81 in Maryland which is ranked at nineteenth place. A final legalization of gay marriage in Maryland probably would bring a higher ranking on this criteria.

In the U.S., the last word is always with the the federal courts and especially the Supreme Court. The highest U.S. court will, sooner or later rule on the issue of marriage between same sex couples. These include, for example, whether the 2008 referendum invalidating gay marriage in California (Proposition 8) or if it was not in accordance with the Federal Constitution. The wise will probably rule on the constitutionality of decisions taken by some States of the Union, in favor of gay marriage.

The hardest part will then be transcribed in the Constitution or the law of each State, the arbitrations of the Supreme Court. The United States remains strongly divided on the issue of marriage between same sex. One half of the population is in favor and the other half oppose, with a nearly identical percentage in each camp. Hence the almost unpredictable polls on gay rights, they do by parliamentary vote or referendum.

This article has been translated from the original on our French blog. To view the original, click here.

Philca & Matt / MensGo
(through the entire American press on 27 February 2012, including Washington Square News [NY] Times Herald-Record [church], Centre Daily Times [Maryland]and The DePaulia)

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