Gay Marriage/Civil Unions in 10 years

[RI]

It should get at least 25 votes out of 30.

I just wanna say, that the bill just passed the state senate by a vote of 26 to 4. I was a little too conservative with my prediction.

You beat me by two minutes.

[RI]

It should get at least 25 votes out of 30.

I just wanna say, that the bill just passed the state senate by a vote of 26 to 4. I was a little too conservative with my prediction.

You beat me by two minutes.

Did you watch the vote/debate? It was really great.

And I just wanna say, funny thing, 4 Republicans voted for this, as opposed to 3 who didn't. The majority of senate Republicans support marriage equality in Vermont.

Yeah, I was watching it over at Burlington Free Press.

The one Democrat who voted against this was Bobby Starr of Essex. What is it with people named Starr and being against gay marriage?

I only worry about what Douglas will do. Do the Dems have enough votes in the House to override a potential veto? Will the fact that the majority of Republicans in the Senate voted for the bill influence his decision?

[RI]

I hope Civil Unions and DP start to take hold, but I do not want the institution of marriage to ever be redefined by the government (or added to, in this case).  Next thing we'll do is start allowing polygamous marriage.

Good God, not this argument again. See slippery slope fallacy.

Separation of Church and State goes both ways.  People don't want the Church stepping on the state's toes, but the State has NO right to EVER step on the church's toes.  The BIBLE says marriage is between a man and a woman not between man and man or woman and woman.  Forgive me for being conservative about this, but I believe God's Word stands forever and cannot and will not be trampled on by the state.  God's Word (the Bible) is ultimately higher than any government document.  So, even if the constitution is amended or state laws or changed, God's Word will still supercede that and will ultimately prevail.

Obviously, if you had read the Vermont bill, you would see that it does not require churches to recognize or perform same sex marriages if they do not want to.

Text: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2010/bills/Intro/H-178.pdf

[RI]

^ Yes, I think that was in Florida. They even had adopted kids and they were on a family vacation.

Anyway, happier news. New Hampshire's House will vote on their bill tomorrow! I don't wanna predict because there's so much House members there and I really don't know anyone, but I'm told to be optimistic, even by the guy who introduced the bill in the House. Happy days.

The margins in NH will be much smaller than in Vermont. If it does pass, would Lynch veto it? The only quote I've seen from him is not promising. They would certainly not be able to override a veto there.

[RI]

The measure passed the NH House by the slimmest of margins. The bill initially failed by one vote, 182-183. However, there was a motion to reconsider, and several congressmen switched their votes, leaving the final tally at 186-179.

http://www.wmur.com/news/19019103/detail.html

[RI]

I don't mean to be a pessimist or anything, but even if it passed the Senate, Lynch will not sign it, and there is no way they can override his veto.

[RI]

Ftr, the bill passed the House 95-52, short of a veto-proof margin.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20090402/NEWS03/90402022

[RI]

Iowa's supreme court ruled for marriage equality.

This makes me happy.

I just wish that more states would pass pro-gay bills instead of having the "activist judges" do it. (O NOEZ!!)

[RI]

Veto Override Vote
House: 100-49
Senate: 23-5

Gay marriage is now legal in Vermont.
http://www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=10143110

[RI]

Gov. David Paterson plans on introducing gay marriage legislation in New York.

http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/08/paterson-marriage/

[RI]

Alcon, VP Meeker, every other Washingtonian here, get ready for a battle. Not a gay marriage one, this is even more ridiculous:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Ridiculous. Blow them out of the water in 2010.

That measure has no shot at passing. Plus, I will actually get to legally vote against it.

[RI]

50% say gay marriage should be banned nationwide.

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=f975bd27-33a6-4579-8716-7bc0fe49a96b

Just what I needed to brighten my day...

[RI]

That's a kind of confusingly phrased question...

Referendum 71 back home is even more confusingly worded.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Yay for approving laws the legislature passed and the governor signed.

[RI]

Did anyone really expect anything different?

[RI]

I like what Bill O said about this in that its going to happen the liberals states will pass it, and the conservative states wont. End result you turn more people against gay rights then before.

Great a Country divided.

All that really sounds like wishful thinking. In the past five or so years since gay marriage was passed in Massachusetts, support for gay rights has actually grown. In every demographic, support for gay rights is higher among youngs than among olds. Now there could be a backlash against gay marriage brewing, with things like the the gay stormclouds ad or the firestorm over Ms. California, but there's no evidence that people have been turning against gay rights in droves lately. This might have happened in 2004, but honestly I think gay marriage's days as a wedge issue are numbered due to growing tolerance among the younger generation.

Didn't you liberals learn anything from Nov 2008 in CA?

     That a defense of marriage proposition lost 9% of the population that supported it in 2000.

Compare: 2008 vs. 2000

I made swing and trend maps for 2008 from 2000.