Author Topic: For non- americans who can't work out the 'rules' of Gay marriage across USA  (Read 2348 times)

Offline Kelda

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I was looking at the BBC News website - at the world this week section and came across the news that on Thursday, contenders for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination debate gay issues in front of an audience in Los Angeles. It had a link to this interesting article which explains Gay marriage across the USA. Good simplified explanation of the different states and how they deal with this issue. With lots of colourful maps!! Go Massachusetts!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3516551.stm

Text only info from this link:

Map: Gay marriage across the US
Gay marriage is one of the most polarising issues in the United States. Here we outline the state of the law across the country, and look at the often intense debates which have surrounded the issue.

Arizona
In November 2006, Arizona voters rejected an amendment to the state constitution that would have banned domestic partnership laws as well as gay marriage.

It became the first state to reject such an amendment. Seven other states approved constitutional amendments banning gay marriage on the same day.

Arizona already had an ordinary law banning gay marriage, which remains in force.

California

California - America's most populous state - has the country's most colourful record on gay marriages.

The city of San Francisco started issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples in February 2004, after the city's new mayor decided to defy state law and allow gay weddings.

More than 3,400 gay couples got married before California's Supreme Court ordered a halt the following month.

During the wedding spree, gay couples flocked to California from across the US. But the weddings angered conservative groups, which launched legal challenges to ban the weddings.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out against gay marriages, and told the state's attorney general to get a court ruling against them.

In August 2004, the state's Supreme Court ruled the mayor had exceeded his authority and nullified the unions.

But in a landmark decision on 14 March 2005, a judge ruled that California state law had breached a constitutional right to equal treatment of all citizens, irrespective of sexuality. That case has been appealed to a higher court and is expected to reach the state Supreme Court.

In September 2005, the state assembly became the first state legislature in the US to pass a bill endorsing gay marriages, following a similar move from the state Senate. Mr Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill.

Connecticut

In April 2005, Connecticut became the first state in the country to create a legal framework for civil partnerships without being instructed to do so by a court. (Vermont had done so earlier after its Supreme Court ruled that refusing to do so was discrimination.)

Like Vermont, Connecticut bans gay marriage while allowing civil partnerships that confer many, but not all, of the same rights.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licences for gay couples, in May 2004, and weddings took place soon after, despite last-ditch legal attempts by conservative groups to halt the process.

This followed re-affirmation in February 2004 by the state's Supreme Court of a landmark ruling that it is a violation of the state constitution to ban gay marriage.

It had originally ruled on the issue as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2001 by seven gay couples, who sued the Massachusetts Department of Public Health after they were refused marriage licences.

State legislators later proposed a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages, but would allow civil unions, but the measure was effectively killed when the state house decided in November 2006 to recess rather than vote on it.

New Hampshire

Lawmakers in New Hampshire approved same-sex civil unions in April 2007. The bill, which gives legal recognition to gay partnerships, was passed by a 14-10 vote in the Democratic-held state senate. It was signed into law by Governor John Lynch on 31 May 2007.

The move was welcomed by Bishop Gene Robinson - the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop.

He told the Associated Press he and his partner wanted to be among the first gay couples in New Hampshire to officially unite under the civil unions law.

New Jersey

In December 2006, New Jersey lawmakers approved same-sex civil unions which would give gay and lesbian couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Under the ruling, which came into effect in February 2007, gay couples gain benefits like adoption rights and inheritance rights. But the bill does not allow the unions to be called marriages.

The move came in response to the state's Supreme Court ruling in October that gay couples were entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples. Seven gay couples had brought a case claiming that the state's constitution entitled them to marry.

The court ruled that they were entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples and gave lawmakers six months to review the law. But it said it could not "find that the right to same-sex marriage is a fundamental right under our constitution".

The state has a tradition of expanding civil rights, having authorised domestic partnerships in 2004.

New Mexico

Officials in Sandoval County, New Mexico, issued marriage licences to gay couples for a matter of hours on 20 February 2004, following the lead of San Francisco.

More than 60 couples are believed to have been married before the state's attorney general ordered that they be stopped.

"No county clerk should issue a marriage licence to same-sex couples because those licences would be invalid under current law," New Mexico attorney general Patricia Madrid wrote in an "advisory" statement to local officials.

New Mexico's state legislature has considered a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman, but the measure died in committee, leaving state law silent on gay marriage.

New York

New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled in July 2006 that the state constitution did not require New York to recognise gay marriages.

But New York is one of few US states that does not have a law on the book explicitly banning them, and the high court said the legislature could introduce same-sex marriage if it wished.

Gay-marriage advocates are thought to have little chance of getting such a law approved, a possible reason they took the case to the courts instead of the legislature.

Oregon

Multnomah Country - which includes the city of Portland and is the most populous in Oregon - began issuing same-sex marriage licences on 3 March 2004.

About 3,000 were issued and another county, Benton, planned to follow suit.

But a judge ordered a freeze pending a court decision on the issue.

In November 2004, Oregon - along with 10 other states - voted to reject same-sex marriage.

In April 2005, the state's Supreme Court annulled the marriage licences issued in Multnomah County, saying they contravened state law.

Vermont

In 2000, under the governorship of former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, Vermont became the first US state to offer homosexuals the right to join in civil unions - although state law prevents them from being called marriages.

Under the legislation, same-sex partners resident in the state are allowed to apply for a licence similar to a marriage certificate, giving them the same benefits as married couples on matters such as life insurance, health care and child custody.

Couples wishing to separate have to go to court.

While the law grants homosexual couples many of the same rights as married people, the partnership is not recognised at the federal level.

President George W Bush has made clear that while he will support a constitutional amendment outlawing gay marriage, individual states like Vermont will still be able to make their own arrangements on unions.

A number of states have, however, already moved to outlaw not just gay marriage but also the Vermont-style civil union.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/3516551.stm

Published: 2007/05/31 16:29:30 GMT

© BBC MMVII


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Offline Mikaela

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Thanks for the link. This was very interesting; - and disappointing. Nearly all the map is light green! I didn't know the situation was quite so discouraging.

Offline Kelda

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it also makes me dislike bush even more.
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Offline MaineWriter

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I do think that map is a little bit misleading. Here in Maine, for example, we do have a law banning same-sex marriage, but at the same time, there are provisions for same-sex couples to enter into legally sanctioned domestic partnership. I realize this is not the same as marriage but it is a step in the right direction.

Here's another article with a bit more information, for anyone who is interested.

http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=20695

The one thing that I find reassuring is that the President has been soundly defeated in his efforts to create a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Marriage laws have always been handled at the state level and Congress has continued to support that stand.

L
Taming Groomzilla<-- support equality for same-sex marriage in Maine by clicking this link!

Offline Kelda

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I was trying to find a source to give coverage of how this debate had gone. This give about 8 seperate (short) articles on it. Maybe someone has a better artyicle they can post.

http://www.gaynewswatch.com/Page.cfm?PageID=2&STID=8&SID=2395

Quote
Hillary dances to defend (and distance) Bill's record
Washington Post, Posted: 8/5/2007, 7:24 PM
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president on her husband's White House record, and it's a strategy that cuts both ways. The New York senator and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, constantly remind voters of the nation's economic prosperity in the 1990s. But a San Francisco blogger made that painfully clear to Sen. Clinton during the Yearly Kos Convention, when he asked whether she would support or repeal four major pieces of legislation enacted during the Clinton administration _ the Defense of Marriage Act, the Telecommunications Act, the North American Free Trade Agreement and welfare reform. All four laws are unpopular with liberal voters who historically dominate Democratic primaries and caucuses. The political landscape for Democrats has changed since the 1990s on issues such as gay rights, trade and welfare reform _ due in part to the rise of the influential and polarizing liberal blogosphere. That means candidates like Clinton must shift, too, or defend their refusal to do so.

 Hillary defends Bill's gay record in Etheridge exchange
Washington Times (anti-gay), Posted: 8/10/2007, 1:56 AM
(*Warning: anti-gay source*): Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton defended her husband's record on homosexual rights last night in an emotional exchange with singer Melissa Etheridge during a broad forum hosted by the Human Rights Campaign. Miss Etheridge told the New York Democrat she felt betrayed in the years after she came out as a lesbian during the week of President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. "Our hearts were broken, we were thrown under the bus, we were pushed aside, all those great promises that were made to us were broken," Miss Etheridge said, alluding to Mr. Clinton's going back on his promise to repeal the ban on open homosexuals in the military and his signing the Defense of Marriage Act. "Are we going to be left behind the way we were before?" she asked. 

 Richardson says being gay is a 'choice' in Dem forum
Southern Voice, Posted: 8/10/2007, 3:32 AM
In an otherwise low-key presidential candidates forum dedicated to gay issues, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson drew gasps from the audience when he appeared to suggest that homosexuality is a choice. Lesbian singer Melissa Etheridge, one of three panelists for the event, asked Richardson whether he considers homosexuality innate or a choice. “It’s a choice,” he said. Etheridge, suggesting Richardson might have misunderstood, then rephrased her question to ask him whether he thinks “a homosexual is born that way, or do you think that around seventh grade, we go, ‘Ooo, I want to be gay.’” In an expanded response, Richardson noted that he’s not a scientist. “It’s, it’s, it, you know, I don’t see this as an issue of science or definition,” he said. “I see gays and lesbians as people, as a matter of human decency. I see it as a matter of love and companionship and people loving each other. You know, I don’t like to categorize people. I don’t like to answer definitions like that, that you know perhaps are grounded in science or something else that I don’t understand.” 

Dems at forum wear shades of gray on gay marriage 
CQ Politics, Posted: 8/10/2007, 3:39 AM
Six of the candidates seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination participated Thursday in a two-hour forum in Los Angeles devoted to issues of concern to gays. Debate about same-sex marriage dominated the forum. With only two candidates, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, supporting full marriage rights for same-sex couples most of the scrutiny went to Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton: All of them proclaimed their support for civil unions that provide many partnership rights to same-sex couples but do not constitute marriage under the law. “The country isn’t there yet,” said Richardson of his opposition to gay marriage. “Civil unions with full marriage rights is achievable.” Clinton described her opposition as “a personal position,” adding that marriage laws should be determined by state legislatures. Obama, who served in the Illinois Senate for eight years prior to his 2004 election to the U.S. Senate, would not say if he would have voted for a bill to legalize gay marriage. “It depends on how the bill would’ve come up,” he said. In one of the most direct moments of the night, Edwards backtracked on recent comments that his personal faith influenced his opposition to gay marriage. “I shouldn’t have said that,” Edwards said, adding, “My position on same-sex marriage has not changed. I believe strongly in civil unions.” 

 Obama insists civil unions not 'lesser' than marriage
Washington Post, Posted: 8/10/2007, 4:07 AM
Democratic presidential contenders Thursday sought to underscore their differences with Republicans on gay and lesbian rights, but leading candidates also faced sharp questions on their reluctance to embrace marriage for same-sex couples. In a forum focusing on gay issues sponsored by a gay-rights organization and aired on a gay-oriented cable channel, Sen. Barack Obama argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn't be a "lesser thing" than marriage. He disputed that his position on same-sex marriage made him a vestige of the past rather than an agent of change. Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ, which supports gay marriage, but Obama has yet to go that far. "If we have a situation in which civil unions are fully enforced, are widely recognized, people have civil rights under the law, then my sense is that's enormous progress," the Illinois Democrat said. 

At forum, Dems sorry for DOMA, military's gay ban 
Politico.com, Posted: 8/10/2007, 10:33 AM
The leading Democratic presidential candidates all but apologized for their failure to support same-sex marriage before a largely gay and lesbian television audience Thursday night. The Los Angeles forum, organized by the Human Rights Campaign and LOGO, drew repeated apologies from the candidates with longer records in public life, as New York Sen. Hillary Clinton defended her husband's record and Clinton, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson each apologized for past mistakes. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, like Clinton and Edwards, was unable to explain his opposition to same-sex marriage in principled terms, referring to it as a matter of "semantics." Obama cast his opposition as a matter of strategy and priority — he would not have advised the civil rights movement to make the repeal of anti-miscegenation laws a top priority in 1961, he said. Clinton called her opposition "personal," but didn't explain it. And Edwards took back an earlier comment that his "faith" had led him to oppose same-sex marriage — but didn't elaborate on the source of his current opposition.
 
 Kucinich campaign office vandalized after gay forum
Cleveland.com, Posted: 8/10/2007, 9:41 PM
Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign office in Cleveland was vandalized early this morning after the congressman appeared with other Democratic candidates on a nationally televised forum on gay rights. Kucinich spokesman Andy Juniewicz said an unknown object was thrown through a plate glass window sometime after 12:30 a.m., when campaign staffers closed down the office. Juniewicz did not have a dollar estimate of the damage, and said he didn't know whether it was connected with Kucinich's appearance at the forum sponsored by the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. "We will leave it to the Cleveland Police Department to investigate and see what they come up with," Juniewicz said. 

S.F. mayor backs Clinton in gay marriage vindication 
San Francisco Sentinel, Posted: 8/11/2007, 1:59 PM
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) stood before national media at San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s side to accept his endorsement on the very day filing deadline passed for candidates to take a shot at defeating Newsom re-election November 2007. None took the shot. Within weeks of Newsome's election, Newsom made headlines by marrying gay couples. He was shunned by California and national Democrats. Yet Newsom did not waver, and his political gut was vindicated nationally yesterday. Hillary Clinton supports civil unions for LGBT couples as national policy because that’s where the power of Gavin Newsom’s act has moved the world body politic. While it falls short of marriage equality, national support for civil unions was unthinkable five years ago. 

 
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