Friday, September 04, 2009

All The News That's Good And Gay


Out there in Iowa, NOM, the National organization for Marriage, spent nearly 100 K trying to get Stephen Burgmeier, a Republican, elected to the Iowa House of representatives.
Didn't work.
Sorry, NOM, you lose.
Democrat Curt Hanson won the seat by 107 votes, and spent about $23,000.00.
Way to go, Iowa.
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Openly gay New York State Senator Tom Duane believes the senate could vote on a pending marriage equality bill before the end of the month. if passed, it would make New York the seventh, and largest, state to end discrimination and allow marriage equality.
Gay couples can marry in four states currently–Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa and Vermont--and will be able to do so in New Hampshire beginning January 1, 2010. In Maine, the legislature enacted a marriage equality bill, but a unique “people’s veto” process is now underway, and a question about repealing that law will be on a statewide ballot in November.
If Maine goes the right way, and Duane has his way, we'll have two more states that see equality for all Americans.
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I love polls.
I don't often trust them, but they are a good jumping off point for discussion.
In Washington state, a new poll indicates that some 66% of voters favor either full marriage equality or the "everything but" law.
Those who seek to enforce discrimination based on sexual orientation, even though they've gathered enough signatures to put Referendum 71 on the ballot, face a good, hard fight.

The poll’s authors write:
The debate over the legal recognition of same sex couples will no doubt remain controversial for some time in Washington State. Despite this, granting lesbian and gay couples the rights of marriage in their entirety in the form of domestic partnerships is a position supported by a majority of Washingtonians. This support is widespread across demographic groups, and is a majority position for those in the political middle. While some demographic groups, including conservatives and Republicans, are far from having majorities that support full domestic partnerships, most other demographic groups are evenly split or have strong majorities that support them. Further, our data reveal that support for same‐sex partnership rights has grown each year, suggesting an increasing tolerance in Washington State.

I've been to Washington state. beautiful place, lovely people. I believe they'll do the right thing and take this one baby step toward equality.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:56 AM

    It's always good to read some news that shows the flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do believe Ref 71 got on the ballot with the smallest of margins (about 1k vs. the usual 100k) ever. Which is another good sign.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:33 AM

    It's a juggernaut at this point. People can either stand with us, or be rolled over by us.

    I suspect Maine will reject the proposition on the ballot. I've been to Maine dozens of times. Great people, and if New Hampshire has "Don't Tread on Me", Maine has "Mind your own fucking business."

    ReplyDelete

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