The Rising Tide For Marriage Equality
Yesterday, the Vermont legislature voted
to recognize same-sex marriage,
making Vermont the
fourth state in the country to
take such a step and the first to
do so through the legislative process. On the same day, the
Washington DC council voted
12-0 "to recognize
same-sex marriages performed in
other states." These actions come
just six days after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously affirmed
the right of same-sex couples to
marry. As the Center for American
Progress Action Fund's Winnie Stachelberg noted, Vermont's vote "highlights
the growing consensus in
American public opinion in support of
relationship recognition for same-sex couples." Indeed, legislation
granting same-sex coupes the right to marry is also being debated in New
Hampshire, Maine, and New Jersey,
while section three of the
Defense of Marriage Act,
which denies
same-sex couples federal
retirement and health care benefits, is
being challenged
in Massachusetts. "I think we're going to look back at this week as a
moment when our entire country turned a corner," said Jennifer Pizer,
the national marriage project director for the advocacy group Lambda
Legal. "Each time there's an important step forward, it makes it easier
for others to follow."
VERMONT
OVERRIDES A VETO:
Last week, the
two houses of Vermont's legislature voted
to pass the marriage equality
bill, which was then
vetoed by Gov. Jim Douglas (R)
on Monday. However, the legislature overrode
the veto, with the bill passing
Vermont's Senate 23-5 and House
100-49. Several House members who voted against the legislation last
week switched
sides to support the override.
Senate President Pro Tempore Peter
Shumlin (D) said, "Vermont legislators did
the right thing by overriding
Governor Douglas’ veto and
granting equal rights to all Vermonters. The struggle for
equal
rights is never easy." He added that "I have never felt more proud as
we become the first state in the country to enact marriage equality not
as the result of a court order, but because it
is the right thing to do."
"People saw
this as an equality issue, and
we’re proud that Vermont has
led the way without a court order to provide equal benefits," said
State Rep. Margaret Cheney (D). The passage of the bill "came
nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation
civil unions law."
IOWA
CITES EQUAL PROTECTION:
The
state's Supreme Court found that "limiting civil marriage to a union
between a man and a woman violates
the equal protection clause of
the Iowa Constitution," adding that
protecting the right to same-sex marriage is comparable
to past rulings by the Iowa
Supreme Court that protected
women's rights and struck down slavery and segregation laws.
"This issue comes to us with the same
importance as our landmark cases
of the past," wrote the court.
"How can a state premised on the constitutional principle of equal
protection justify
exclusion of a class of Iowans
from civil marriage?" The court also
directly addressed concerns that its decision would trample on
religious views of marriage, writing that "a religious denomination can
still define marriage as a union
between a man and a woman." Rep.
Steve King (R-IA) decried the decision, saying that "the logical
approach to this — to get something that we can do
--
I think is to pass a constitutional amendment to
correct the court." However,
State Senate Majority Leader Mike
Gronstal (D) said that there
will be no debate in the this
session on such an amendment.
THE
RIGHT-WING RESPONDS: King
also pressed for immediate action to
prevent Iowa from becoming
a "Mecca" for gay couples.
"[T]he legislature must also enact marriage license residency
requirements so that Iowa does not become the gay marriage Mecca due to
the Supreme Court's latest
experiment in social engineering,"
said King. He was not alone in his outrage. Immediately
after the Vermont legislature made its decision, conservatives railed
against the "wealthy homosexual activists"
who they claim are
driving a "form of tyranny" aimed at dismantling "democracy."
"Same-sex
'marriage' is a movement
driven by
wealthy homosexual activists and
a liberal elite determined to
destroy not only the institution of marriage, but democracy as well,"
said Tony Perkins
of the Family Research Council. "The
consequences will rest on their shoulders and upon those passive
objectors who know what to do but lack the courage to
stand against
this form of tyranny,"
added the Liberty Council's Matthew Staver. Brian Brown,
executive
director of the National Organization for Marriage, went so far as to
claim that Vermont's vote "clearly goes against
the peoples understanding of marriage. Common sense and basic
democratic norms dictate that such an important question should have
gone directly to the voters of Vermont." But as David Catania,
a
D.C. City Council member who voted for the amendment to
recognize marriage equality noted, the votes in D.C. and
Vermont
represented "super majorities of the elected
leadership in both
jurisdictions."
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The owners of the Empire State Building "announced yesterday they were investing an additional $20m to reduce its carbon footprint and energy consumption. "
THINK PROGRESS:
Right wing hysterical over
President Obama's "not at war with Islam" remarks: "We have nothing to
apologize for."
WONK ROOM:
Whole Foods manager to employees: If
you unionize, "every benefit you have" is "thrown out the window."
YGLESIAS:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates explains
the thinking behind his reform budget recommendations.
COUNTY FAIR:
Caller who identifies as a veteran
and a McCain supporter takes Rush Limbaugh to task for supporting
torture.
TENNESSEE: New state panel aims to make getting legal aid easier.
IOWA: After layoffs, many workers in Iowa are going back to school.
MISSOURI:
"'The Islamic faith has done so much over the centuries to shape the
world, including my own country?' I'm gonna need some help on
this 'cause I don't know what other than 9/11 he's talking about."
-- Rush Limbaugh, 4/7/09,
on remarks from President Obama
VERSUS
"Modern mathematics owes much of its existence to Islam. ... The field
of algebra was developed by Muslim mathematicians in the Middle East
and India."
-- University
of Western Australia
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