Tag: marriage equality

A slight majority of Americans now support marriage equality according to a poll by the Washington Post and ABC:

Five years ago, at 36 percent, support for gay marriage barely topped a third of all Americans. Now, 53 percent say gay marriage should be legal, marking the first time in Post-ABC polling that a majority has said so.

“This is very consistent with a lot of other polling data we’ve seen and the general momentum we’ve seen over the past year and a half,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a leading pro-gay-marriage group. “As people have come to understand this is about loving, committed families dealing, like everyone, with tough times, they understand how unfair it is to treat them differently.”

Opponents of marriage equality weren’t happy with the results and pointed to the language of the poll “Do you think it should be legal or illegal for gay and lesbian couples to get married?” Opponents said those polled thought the word “illegal” meant gays would be imprisoned which sounded harsh.

However, the poll has used the same language since 2003, when polls leaned in opponents direction. I notice they didn’t get mad about language then.

Other polls by the Pew Research Center, the Associated Press and CNN show similar trends.

Forward, kids. Forward.

From Instinct: “In the House, the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) was introduced by Reps. Jerry Nadler, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and David Cicilline, with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer sponsoring that chamber’s bill. The House version also counts 100 co-sponsors.  In the Senate, which is looking at DOMA repeal for the first time, Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Patrick Leahy and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the legislation.”

At the press conference to announce the repeal bill, House Democrats called on citizens who were legally married in their state but denied rights affording to heterosexual couples under the law. Edie Windsor, 81, spoke about her 44-year relationship with Thea Spyer. When Spyer died in 2008, Windsor paid more than $360,000 in federal estate taxes because the government did not recognize their marriage.

Obviously, there’s more chance of passing in the Democrat controlled Senate. There are about 20 co-sponsors in the Senate. With Republican control of the House and the much more conservative Tea Party freshmen in that chamber, I’m not too optimistic about passage there.

There would be a strange irony in the Tea Party members opposing the repeal of DOMA: Tea Partiers stand for states rights. The basis of their position seems to always be “let states govern themselves.” If that’s the case, and a state decides to allow marriage equality, then the federal government should honor those marriages like any other states’ marriage. I’ll be curious to see how they argue this among themselves.

But – it’s all about steps, kids. Forward. No fear.

Celebrities, entertainment moguls and professional athletes as diverse as Ellen & Portia DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, David Geffen, Anne Hathaway, Jane Lynch & Lara Embry, Eric McCormack, Martin Sheen, Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner, Zach Wahls, Rufus Wainwright, Evan Wolfson, and Bob & Suzanne Wright have come together to ask President Obama to support marriage equality.

Freedom To Marry’s new “Say ‘I Do,’ Mr. President” asks for the President’s support of marriage equality.

From their open letter:

Like so many Americans, you have spoken of your personal journey toward support for the freedom to marry. You have talked about the gay and lesbian people in your life, their commitment to each other and care for their kids, and their families that aren’t so different from any other family.

We ask you now for your leadership on ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, an exclusion that harms millions of Americans each day. Whether to end discrimination in marriage is a question America has faced before, and faces again today. With so many Americans talking it through in heartfelt conversations, it is a question that calls for clarity from the President.

You can offer hope to millions of young gay and lesbian Americans who are facing discrimination. You can tell them that their future is bright, that they, too, will be able to grow up and marry the person that they love, that the pursuit of happiness truly belongs to all of us. You can put government on the side of those seeking to care for their loved ones, instead of those standing in their way. You can affirm that for all of us, gay or non-gay, love is love and commitment counts – and that we Americans should treat others as we all want to be treated.

You can add your signature to the list attached to the letter by heading to Freedom To Marry’s website.

U.S. Reps. Nadler, Conyers, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and David Cicilline will hold a press conference today to announce a bill that seeks to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. According to a press release, the coalition will introduce the legislation into the House Wednesday.

“The Respect for Marriage Act would repeal DOMA, and comes in response to a call from President Obama for Congressional action on the issue,” the coalition writes in the press release.

“As the President has stated: ‘I stand by my long-standing commitment to work with Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. It’s discriminatory, it interferes with states’ rights, and it’s time we overturned it.’

Last week, on the heels of the President’s decision not to defend DOMA in court, House Republican Leadership announced that it will defend DOMA in court, making passage of the Respect for Marriage Act more critical than ever.”

(via Instinct Magazine)