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What you should know about what's in the news.
Big Victories For Marriage Equality
The state of Vermont made history yesterday when it became the very first state to legalize gay marriage through the legislature rather than through a court decision. The Vermont House overturned Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto on gay marriage with a 100-49 vote; the veto was overturned in the Vermont Senate with a 23-05 vote.
By Christy Harvey, Mic Check Radio
April 7, 2009
Know Five Things
 (Photo from CAP)
1. New Victories
- In Vermont: Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples. This week, the state became the first to legalize gay marriage through the legislature rather than through the Court system. Gays and lesbians may now marry in the state starting September 1. [Washington Post]
- In DC: In Washington DC Tuesday, City Council vote decided to recognize all same-sex marriages performed in other states. The vote was unanimous, 12-0. However, the vote also sets up a battle with Congress, which by law must approve allDC’s laws. [USA Today]
- In Vermont: In Iowa: Last Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage when it “upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.” [MSNBC]
2. The State of Gay Marriage – Pro
- Marriage Is Legal: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont.
- Civil Unions Are Sanctioned: New Hampshire. New Jersey.
- Domestic Partnerships Are Recognized: California, Oregon,
Washington state, Washington DC
- Asterisk: California allowed gay marriage for a brief interval last year, but the law was overturned by Prop 8 in November.
3. The State of Gay Marriage – Con
- Thirty States Ban Gay Marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.
- The Federal Government Against Gay Marriage: Same-sex marriages are not acknowledged by the federal government, however, thanks to the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996, which a) “reinforces a state’s right not to recognize another state’s same-sex marriage” and b) “denies federal recognition of marriages between couples of the same sex.”
4. The Financial Repercussions of the Ban
- A marriage ban has a financial impact on couples. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds “a same-sex couple with average characteristics—including average age, average income, and average gap in income between spouses—will be denied more than $8,000 a year in Social Security survivor benefits upon the death of the higher-earning spouse after retirement.” [CAP]
- A marriage ban has a financial impact on the community. A study done by The Williams Institute at UCLA for the state of California in 2008 found “Extending marriage to same-sex couples will boost California state and local government revenues by over $63.8 million.” Another study shows “extending marriage to same-sex couples in Vermont will result in $30.6 million in additional spending over three years. That spending would add $3.3 million in revenue to the state budget and create approximately 700 new jobs. [Williams Institute] [Williams Institute]
5. Polls on Same-Sex Marriage
- Gay marriage has lost its power to polarize the American public. A study by the Pew Research Center in August 2008 found the issue of “gay marriage” came in last in importance on a list of issues voters cared about. [Pew]
- The poll also found six out of 10 Americans thought “some form of legal recognition is appropriate for same-sex couples.” Support has steadily been growing since 2004. The CBS News Poll found “27 percent of Americans support civil unions for same-sex couples, while 35 percent thinks there should be no legal recognition of same-sex relationships at all.” Compare this to 2004, when “just 22 percent supported gay marriage and 40 percent said there should be no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.” [CBS News]
- Why the change? Newsweek reports: “...One reason that tolerance for gay marriage and civil unions may be on the rise is that a growing number of Americans say they know someone who’s gay. While in 1994, a NEWSWEEK Poll found that only 53 percent of those questioned knew a gay or lesbian person, that figure today is 78 percent. Drilling down a bit more, 38 percent of adults work with someone gay, 33 percent have a gay family member and 66 percent have a gay friend or acquaintance….” [Newsweek]
And One to Grow On
Have you seen these t-shirts? The front reads “Marriage is so gay” – the proceeds go to organizations that support the right for same-sex couples to marry. [MarriageIsSoGay]
Read Additional Resources
“Benefits Denied: Federal Laws Discriminate Against Same-Sex Couples,”.” Ben Furnas, Josh Rosenthal for CAP, 03/03/09. [ CAP]
* Excerpt: “...After paying a lifetime of payroll taxes into a system that is supposed to provide retirement benefits for married couples, same-sex couples who marry are denied thousands of dollars in retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and lump-sum death benefits, simply because they are married to a person of the same sex…”
“Vermont Becomes Fourth State to Allow Gay Marriage.” Timothy J. Alberta, Wall Street Journal, 04-07-09. [WSJ]
* Excerpt: “...It’s shaping up to be an historic week for gay marriage. Only four days after Iowa became the third state to legalize same-sex marriage, Vermont today became the fourth…”
“Why Gay Marriage Matters” Michael Judge, Wall Street Journal, 04-07-09. [ WSJ]
* Excerpt: “...Here’s to marriage, a “supremely important civil institution.” And here’s to including, not excluding, kind-hearted people like my brother David, who want nothing more than to find the right person, settle down, and one day perhaps get married.”
“Defining gay marriage for the feds” Kenji Yoshino for Slate, 03/04/09.[ Slate]
* Excerpt: “...The suit argues only that if a marriage is recognized as valid in a state, the federal government should also recognize it. It does not seek to affect the marriage laws of any state. It does not seek to require that states that do not permit same-sex marriages recognize marriages performed in states that do…Put differently, this lawsuit is not just about gay rights but about preserving the nation’s federal structure…”
“The Impact of Extending Marriage to Same-Sex Couples on the California Budget” The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, June 2008. [ Williams Institute]
* Excerpt:”...This analysis estimates the impact of the California Supreme Court’s recent decision to extend marriage to same-sex couples on state and local government revenues in California. Using the best data available, we estimate that allowing same-sex couples to marry will result in approximately $63.8 million in revenue over the next three years…”
“A Gay Marriage Surge” Newsweek, December 2008. [ Newsweek]
* Excerpt: “...One reason that tolerance for gay marriage and civil unions may be on the rise is that a growing number of Americans say they know someone who’s gay. While in 1994, a NEWSWEEK Poll found that only 53 percent of those questioned knew a gay or lesbian person, that figure today is 78 percent. Drilling down a bit more, 38 percent of adults work with someone gay, 33 percent have a gay family member and 66 percent have a gay friend or acquaintance….”
Talk to An Expert Interested in talking with an expert on this topic or hosting a speaking event? Contact speakers@campusprogress.org.
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Polls on Same-Sex Marriage in 2008 showed gay marriage came in last in importance on a list of issues voters cared about due in large part the economy was the major focus. Polls like this overstate America’s shift towards “gay marriage”. Every time “gay marriage” has come to a vote, the people define marriage as between a man and a women.
— jess - Apr 10, 12:53 PM - #Polls on Same-Sex Marriage in 2008 showed gay marriage came in last in importance on a list of issues voters cared about due in large part the economy was the major focus. Polls like this overstate America’s shift towards “gay marriage”. Every time “gay marriage” has come to a vote, the people define marriage as between a man and a women.
— jess - Apr 10, 12:54 PM - #