Category: Uncategorized

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Maine votes to pass marriage equality in 2012

All the votes are not yet in and the margin is only a few points at this writing, but virtually all of the LGBT organizations and the Portland Press-Herald are calling it a WIN.

Via press release from Freedom To Marry:

Maine today became the first state to approve the freedom to marry for same-sex couples through a majority vote on a ballot measure.

Maine is expected to begin issuing marriage licenses in mid-December.

“Today, a majority in Maine voted in favor of loving and committed same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry,” said Freedom to Marry National Campaign Director Marc Solomon. “Now the commitment gay and lesbian couples have made in life will be respected equally under the law, celebrated before their loved ones, and called what it is: marriage.”

“It’s hard to overstate the national significance of this vote,” Solomon continued. “For years, our opponents have argued that we could not win a majority vote at the ballot. Today, Maine voters proved them wrong, standing up for the Golden Rule and for freedom for all Mainers.”

This means more to me than you can ever know. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your votes have made more Americans more “equal” than you will ever know.

Great, great day. Thank you.

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Yes! Marriage equality passes in Maryland!

Marriage equality has won in Maryland, with the Question 6 ballot measure succeeding!

With 92.7% Reporting – 51.7% approved the measure and 48.3% opposed it.

Voters approved Question 6, the Civil Marriage Protection Act, paving the way for gay and lesbian couples to receive a marriage license beginning in January.

Tonight is the first time in history any state has voted on and passed marriage equality on the ballot. Fairness and equality under the law won tonight,” said Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. “We’re sure to feel the ripples of this monumental victory across the country for years to come.”

Question 6 protects religious freedom of churches and clergy. No church or clergy member will have to perform any marriage they don’t want to. Legislatures and courts have legalized marriage equality in six states and the District of Columbia.

Maryland is the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through a vote of the people. “This victory would not have been possible without the unparalleled leadership of Governor O’Malley, resolve of the LGBT Caucus in the legislature, and the full-court press by the Human Rights Campaign, which has been here day in and day out for more than a year working for full equality.”

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Empire State Building to go red or blue as election results are determined

As CNN projects winners in each state, the Empire State Building will be exclusively displaying the race to 270 electoral votes with a vertical LED illuminated “meter” on its spire—blue for President Obama, and red for former Governor Romney.

And when CNN projects a winner in the presidential election, the full spire and upper floors change colors to either red or blue.

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Machine turns vote for Obama into one for Romney

Earlier today, a Pennsylvania voter posted video of a voting machine marking a vote for Mitt Romney when the voter pressed the appropriate location on the screen to vote for President Obama.

The video was first posted on Youtube by user “centralpavoter.” It shows a voter’s finger repeatedly pressing the button for Obama, but a check mark coming up next to Romney’s name:

The machine has now been taken out of service.

As the voter discovered the error before casting their ballot, there is no reason to believe their vote was miscast for Romney — although it is also not clear if other voters used the machine before the error was discovered.

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Marijuana legalization on the ballot in several states

 Voters in three western U.S. states go to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could spur a showdown with the federal government, with polls showing legalization ahead in Washington and Colorado.

If voters approve the measures, the states could become the first in the country to legalize the recreational use of pot. Each of the initiatives would see marijuana taxed and would regulate its sale in special stores to adults age 21 and older.
Surveys show legalization measures ahead in Washington state, where campaign finance records say its sponsors have raised $6 million, and Colorado, where backers have pulled in nearly $2 million. But legalization was trailing in Oregon, where a grass-roots campaign was struggling to sway voters.
A survey of 932 likely voters in Washington state released on Saturday by Public Policy Polling found 53 percent support legalization, with a margin of error of 3.2 percent.
Legalization was also ahead in Colorado, where a recent SurveyUSA poll of 695 likely voters conducted for the Denver Post showed 50 percent in favor and 44 percent opposed. The survey had a 3.8 percent margin of error.
But in Oregon, legalization was trailing with just 42 percent in favor, according to a survey of 405 likely voters by Elway Research for The Oregonian. The poll had a margin of error of 5 percent.
Meanwhile, a Massachusetts ballot initiative on Tuesday proposes allowing medical marijuana in that state, and voters in Arkansas are being asked whether to become the first southern state to allow marijuana as medicine. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana.
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Spain’s top court will rule on marriage equality

Spain’s Constitutional Court is expected to rule on an appeal against the country’s gay marriage law, seven years after the legislation was approved.

The conservative Popular Party filed the appeal in 2005 on the grounds that “marriage” in the Spanish constitution meant the union of a man and a woman in matrimony.

A court spokesman said the tribunal will meet later Tuesday to study the appeal and is expected to vote.

Spain’s Parliament passed the gay marriage bill in June 2005 when it was Socialist-controlled, with only Popular Party deputies opposing. The Popular Party has since come to power.

(source)

UPDATE: The verdict is in and it’s GOOD news!

Spain’s Constitutional Court upheld the legality of the country’s gay marriage law on Tuesday, rejecting an appeal contending that marriage in the Spanish constitution means only the union of a man and woman.

The county’s top court voted 8-3 to dismiss the appeal of the conservative Popular Party filed shortly after Spain became the world’s third country to approve gay marriage.

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Ohio: Family of anti-gay GOP Senate candidate takes out ad against him

The family of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is running for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, has placed a newspaper ad denouncing Mandel for his anti-gay positions. An excerpt from their ad:

Your cousins, Ellen Ratner and Cholene Espinoza, are among the many wonderful couples whose rights you do not recognize. They were married almost eight years ago in Massachusetts, at a time when it was the only state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage. Their wedding, like yours, was a beautiful and happy occasion for all of us in our family. It hurts us that you would embrace discrimination against them and countless other loving couples in Ohio and around the country.



We are equally distressed by your belief that gay men and women should not be allowed to serve openly in the military. Like you, Cholene spent many years in the armed forces. A graduate of the Air Force Academy and an accomplished pilot, she became the second woman in history to fly the U-2 reconnaissance plane. And yet, you have argued that she, like many gay and lesbian soldiers, should be forced to live a life of secrecy and lies.



The letter is signed by nine of Mandel’s family members.

(via JoeMyGod)