Tag: marriage equality

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Minnesota: Marriage equality vote in state House this Thursday

Minnesota state House will vote on marriage equality this Thursday:

House DFL leadership announced the plans Tuesday. House Speaker Paul Thissen has previously said that scheduling the vote would be a signal that DFL leaders secured the 68 votes needed to pass the bill.

If the House passes the bill, the next vote would be in the state Senate. But its passage has been seen as more secure there than in the House.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign the bill, which would allow gay couples to start getting married in Minnesota on Aug. 1.

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Delaware: Final vote on marriage equality today

Big day in Delaware! Full Senate will be voting on marriage equality.  The bill easily in the state House last month by 23-18. But today is predicted to be very close.

Start thinking those happy thoughts.

Governor Markell is a supporter and has promised to sign if it hits his desk.

Below is the final “forecast” from Delaware Liberal.  As you can see, it could be a nail biter.

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Minnesota: House Ways and Means committee to consider marriage equality bill today

The Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to review marriage equality legislation today after a state analysis showed a small impact on Minnesota’s general fund.

The state report predicted that approximately 114 state employees might enroll their same-sex spouses for benefits. That could cost the state about $688,000 a year. But it would be partly offset by about $190,000 from same-sex couples buying marriage licenses.

Aslo part of the equation, a Williams Institute study showed that marriage equality could bring up to $42 Million to the state in additional spending. 

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has shown wide public support for the marriage equality bill.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Dayton spoke personally about the issue to House Democrats last week. In addition, his campaign sent out an appeal urging supporters of Marriage Equality to contact their legislators to support the bill.

The state lawmakers have previously passed the legislation out of committees, and a vote in both the House and Senate could happen anytime soon, possibly this week.

(source)

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Brian Brown of NOM continues to hide his head in the sand

Even as Rhode Island became the 10th US state to approve marriage equality, NOM leader and asshat Brian Brown continues to bury his head in the sand and pretend that he is not fighting a losing battle. From USAToday:

“Does inclusive mean that you get rid of your founding principles? Are party platforms supposed to mean anything? If the party does that, the party is DONE! The party is DONE if the Republican party abandons traditional marriage! It will mean that it has turned its back again on not only its base but on the overwhelming majority of folks who identify as Republicans.”

Brian – that NOM paycheck is going to disappear sooner than you think.  Just saying…

Check out the full interview with Mr. Brown by Susan Page of USAToday below:

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Delaware: Final Senate vote for marriage equality next Tuesday

After being approved by a Senate committee this week, Delaware’s marriage equality bill goes before the full Senate on Tuesday.

The Washington Blade reports that seven Senators are in the definite “no” column, and nine Senators in the “yes” column, leaving five votes up in the air:

State Sen. Catherine Cloutier (R-Heatherbrooke) remains undecided. State Sens. Bruce Ennis (D-Smyrna,) Bethany Hall-Long (D-Middletown,) Robert Marshall (D-Wilmington) and Robert Venables (D-Laurel) did not return the Blade’s requests for comment. Hall-Long and Marshall voted for the civil unions bill that Gov. Jack Markell signed into law in 2011, while Ennis and Venables opposed it.

So that’s 9 for, 7 against, and 5 undecided.

If you live in Delaware, please pick up the phone and start calling. Let’s make Delaware state number 11.

(via PurpleUnions.com)

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Rhode Island: Governor Chafee pens op-ed in advance of signing marriage equality into law

In an op-ed in The New York Times titled “Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law,” Chafee goes beyond the usual “I believe in equality” argument to say that it’s an economic imperative to support marriage:

“Rhode Island was badly battered by the recession of 2008, but we are moving in the right direction,” Chafee argues. “Jobs are the only way forward — we need to keep the ones we have, and we need to create new ones.

“There are good signs — our unemployment rate has just undergone the largest yearly drop since 1985 — but one needless obstacle to our recovery remains. Rhode Island is part of a highly regional economy, with the other New England states and New York in constant competition with us for innovative companies, and particularly for the young, open-minded individuals who are close to the heartbeat of the new digital economy.

“In our small cluster of states, it is relatively easy for a company or a person to cross a border seeking a more favorable climate. And in recent years Rhode Island has been an outlier among our surrounding states: we are the only one prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying.”

Read the entire op-ed at NYTimes.com