Posts Tagged ‘gay marriage’
Image from the Daily Kos!
This year could be a big one for supporters of marriage equality across the country. State legislatures in Washington, New Jersey, and Maryland are all engaging the issue this year.
In order for marriage equality to pass, supporters need both Democrats and Republicans to vote for it.
But Republicans who decide to support the measure have to break ranks with their party to do so – and for many that could mean angering conservative constituents and tempting primary challenges.
But the numbers are telling a different story for those Republicans who support marriage equality.
While some supporters are touting the economic benefits of marriage equality for states, the newest round of campaign finance reports tells of a different kind of economic benefit that comes along with supporting same-sex marriage
The New York Times published an article this week reporting that the four Republican senators who split with their party to support gay marriage in New York have seen HUGE jumps in their fundraising.
One senator received 27 times as many donations in this most recent fundraising period compared to the same one in 2009, before his vote. Much of the donations came from people who often identified as both gay and far left. Many had never supported a Republican before, but money started flowing into the four senators for their support.
These four senators aren’t the only ones making some moo-la from marriage. Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose fervent support was credited with the measure’s success, raised over 6 million dollars in the six months after his effort. And three Wall Street Executives donated $350,000 to the NY Senate Republican Campaign Committee – who came out AGAINST the bill – as a thank you for allowing the vote to take place.
A strategist for the Human Rights Campaign, one of the national organizations working on LGBT equality issues, explained that
It was essential to send a clear signal around the country that we will support those who support equality, irrespective of party. We were able to win marriage in New York with a bipartisan coalition of fair-minded elected officials. We need to replicate that if we are to keep winning.
So what do you think – are these political contributions better than a thank you note? Will donors follow suit if Republicans in WA, MD, and NJ also break ranks? And should Republicans making up their minds about marriage equality take these possible benefits into consideration?
Images thanks to Politico!
You can stand under Obama’s umbrella-ella-ella-ay-ay-ay. Because apparently he won’t.
Mark your calendar! Michele Bachmann stops by Late Night next week.
Senator Barbara Mikulski sponsors repeal on DOMA, and the WashPost writes about the new Democratic support for same-sex marriage.
And just in case you haven’t heard about Schweddy Balls yet…
Image Thanks to the Mirror!
A quiet weekend in Britain? Increased police presence prevents weekend riots.
Mandate or can’t-date? An appellate court strikes down individual healthcare mandate and a prediction of what comes next.
Losing a good one: trailblazing women’s health advocate Bernadine Healy passes away.
Super PAC strikes! Stephen Colbert’s political action committee puts out its first campaign ad.
Ernie and Bert – should they or shouldn’t they? Get married, that is!
Thanks to The Atlantic!
Empire of equality: New York becomes 6th state to legalize same-sex marriage!
Rivers keep rising. North Dakota battles record flooding.
What’s with Wisconsin? Judge tries to choke fellow judge.
Same-sex marriage continues to be a hotly debated and deeply divisive cultural issue in the US.
Recently in Maryland, a vote in the state legislature to legalize same-sex marriage was dropped at the last minute after two weeks of intense lobbying.
Democratic leader Mike Busch says
“The vote would have been very close, make no mistake about it,”
Advocates in favor of gay unions are vowing to make a strong push to get a vote in the 2012 legislative session.
USDemocrazy sat down with UMBC’s Jodi Kelber-Kaye to discuss the issue. She has been actively engaged in the issue paying close attention to the contentious legislative antics in Annapolis. You can check out our interview below.
Thanks to Wikicommons.
President Obama (perhaps copying Facebook’s attitude) has changed the US governments policy on homosexual marriage.
The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as
only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ’spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.
Mr. Obama declared yesterday that this act was unconstitutional as it failed to provide equal protection under the law. Although this does not repeal the law (that is a job for the courts) it does mean that the Federal government will not fight legal challenges to the law.
This reversal is getting attention of people on both sides.
Republican Rick Santorum issued a strongly worded statement that
President Obama’s refusal to defend a law that was overwhelmingly supported on both sides of the aisle and signed into law by a president of his own party is an affront to the will of the people. This is yet another example of our president’s effort to erode the very traditions that have made our country the greatest nation on earth
The Human Right Campaign, America’s largest gay rights organization, hailed the Presidents decision with the organizations president, Joe Solomese, stating that
This is a monumental decision for the thousands of same-sex couples and their families who want nothing more than the same rights and dignity afforded to other married couples
Before anyone gets too excited (or up in arms) change is not coming immediately and may not at all.
For one thing, as a spokesman for the President noted, this only changes the legal defenses of the law as
the enforcement of the Defense of Marriage Act continues — the President is constitutionally bound to enforce the laws and enforcement of the DOMA will continue.
The law’s future is now out of Obama’s hands and into those of the nations courts.
It’s been difficult to read the news lately ( the world seems crazier than usual lately ), but here at US Democrazy, it’s our job – so we’ve stuck it out to bring you some gems from the kooky world of American media and politics.
From the “It Must Be still Halloween” department:
Death Panels are Back! Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle from Nevada is hurling the same lies about the so-called “death panels” in the health care reform bill that were settled months ago. What gives?
Check out the flier-clipping for yourself here. Pre-election tactic obviously, but should there be some sort of regulation on the spread of blatant misinformation? Or is this really what makes America the great place it is?
The Attack of The Governator
“WHAT WIMPS. NO GUTS,” is exactly what California Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger said of Washington politicians on Wednesday. This bold words speak of the frustration that many have with the lack of response to the BP oil spill. He went on to say:
I said, that’s disgusting. You promised the people you’d represent them. You didn’t promise the people you’d represent the oil companies and the special interests.
Man, oh man. We like the bold move on the Governor’s part. Now, only if politicians would take it seriously and ensure healthier environmental policy for the country and world alike. Read more and catch the video here.
It’s the Environment, Stupid!
Speaking of BP, reports are trickling in of people getting really sick from the dispersants used in the water to try and break up the oil on the surface after the spill. “Brown vomit, brown urine, copious diarrhea, skin rashes, sore throats and even internal hemorrhaging” are among the symptoms. This is really tragic, but can we say we’re surprised?
Obama still has Hope?
Now for some optimism – Obama seems ready to take a powerful stand on gay marriage. We just don’t know when. He made a comment to liberal bloggers last week in which he talked about his evolving opinions. Many are predicting an embrace of gay rights in his 2012 campaign, something that would be huge for the political capacity of the movement. Do you think he’ll actually do it? Or are the politically pressures too high otherwise?
Courtesy of WikiCommons
It is Wednesday, which is the day we let our Legal correspondent out of his cage to scrounge for morcels of meaty news ( as well as the occaisional pepperoni pizza)..
This week, our legal eagle spotted something with his camera… it’s a story about allowing video cameras in the courtroom. ( No… we are not talking about the Judge Judy TV show…).
Cameras are on everybody’s mind after the Supreme Court said “cut” to a the You Tubing of a high profile Prop 8 trial going on in San Fransisco. We’ve got the rundown…
Pretty much all of our readers have spent some time of their youth in the classroom. It is the one experience that pretty much unites us as a nation… we have all shared a school experience (some of us more awake than others).
Schools certainly can be a source of unity… but also a cause of division (and we don’t mean the math kind…).
School lesson plans that include controversial subjects can spark rebellion among teachers, parents and pupils.
For example, celebrating Christmas (a religious holiday for many) in public schools has been a hotly debated issue.
Religion also was a source of controversy recently when an Ohio teacher caught flack for trying to teach creationism in school using Lego building blocks.
In San Francisco, there is currently a simmering debate on another hot button subject… …read more.
Thanks to www.existentialpunk.com!
We here at USDemocrazy would rather spend our time at peace with the world, feeling really “kumbaya,” as they say.
But as we have seen of late, even issues that will help everyone (like health care or stopping climate change) can cause so much fighting!
There’s one issue that can cause more than its share of heated battles: gay marriage. We’ve seen it in the past, and no doubt we will see again. But recent battles have shown some movement on the issue. Heres’ a rundown what is going on around the world!
Thanks to Jay Michaelson and the Huffington Post!
We here at USDemocrazy think that everyone should just love each other, right?
Well, since Proposition 8 made a media splash last year, there has been a lot of love (and hate) in the air.
What Proposition 8, you ask? … That was the controversial vote in California on whether same sex marriages should be legal in the state, remember? ( oh, THAT Proposition 8!).
So, we have learned that this issue is still a lightning rod for protest.
We at USDemocrazy are glad for the rights we have, since without them, we wouldn’t be able to help you digest all this ridiculous stuff that keeps happening in the world.
It turns out, we’re not the only ones who like having rights in America. The gay community appreciates rights too!
President Obama has taken heat recently by many people for many things. One unhappy group (thus far) has been a constituency that greatly supports him: gay Americans. They are unhappy because he has been slow to fulfill campaign promises to address gay rights issues. (Of course, he has been a little busy of late…)
On Wednesday President Obama made his first nod in their direction. He signed a bill extending some rights to homosexual federal employees and their partners. This bill, according to the Washington Post,
grants employees’ same-sex partners access to a government insurance program that pays for long-term conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease. They also would be allowed to take sick leave to care for a sick partner or non-biological child.
Mr. Obama noted at the signing ceremony,
“Many of our government’s hard-working and dedicated, patriotic public servants have long been denied basic rights that their colleagues enjoy, for one simple reason: The people they love are of the same sex.”
Sure, this is progress, but it is nothing close to what gay rights activists are going for.
John Aravosis wrote for Salon that the gay community is pretty fed up with President Obama, specifically for acting as a protector of equality during the campaign, but doing little since then. He writes,
And while gay and lesbian Americans were initially willing to cut our new president some slack, the president’s now-clear reticence to follow through on even one of his many campaign promises to the gay community has put the Democratic Party on the precipice of an ugly and very public divorce with this once-solid constituency.
And then, there’s this: http://www.obamasplanforgayrights.com/
The White House resents all of this negative representation of the Obama stance on gay rights.
Marc Ambinder points out for The Atlantic, Obama is simply prioritizing right now. Like we said… the guy has been a little bit busy of late.
Ambinder suggests what gays want from Obama isn’t “long-term health care:”
They want Obama to expend his political capital to get super-majorities in the Senate for legislation getting rid of the ban on gays in the military and ending discrimination against gays in the workplace.
And so, it is up to all of us to decide: is Obama being overly cautious with this controversial cultural issue? Or is he just not as big supporter of gay rights as advertised?
(Just an aside… It’s worth noting that this article in the New York Times points out that people becoming less enchanted with Obama… Gay rights activists included…)
And Obama thought things were tough before…
Is this happy face familiar?
China’s chastising… And the US is glad!
Nine years later, no more fighting! Bush v. Gore lawyers join together for an important battle!
Is the economy staging a comeback? We surely hope so…
Pondering your freshman year? President Obama and the rest of the nation relive his!
Thanks to the Onion.
Getting the guns some sun. Joe Biden washes his car.
It’s open for discussion. Schwarzenegger’s fine for talking about marijuana.
And that makes one more. Maine legalizes gay marriage.
Kindleling my love for eBooks. Amazon.com’s got a new toy.
