Marriage on the ballot in 4 states. Here's what I'm seeing as of 12 am on November 7th, though these results are far from final: Maine: 55% in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, overturning the 2009 repeal in that state. Maryland: 52% approving state law passed earlier this year legalizing same-sex marriage. Minnesota: 49% voting against the amendment to ban legal recognition of same-sex marriages (still pretty early in the count) Washington: 52% approving state law passed earlier this year legalizing same-sex marriage. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/gay-marriage-results_n_2074188.html If those results hold true, it will be a huge turnaround at the polls on the issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples.
The results from Maryland are projected by CNN as a win for same sex marriage. It's looking good in other states, but still not enough of the state reporting to be certain. Minnesota is extremely close. Congratulations to those states, although I'm a little envious that I'm in the opposite corner of the country. Jerks
Much as I can't abide the idea of civil rights being subject to popular vote, I am heartened by this ground-breaking result. Let's hope it sticks!
CNN projects it to pass in Maine now as well, Washington and Minnesota still pending. And I'm confident that it will stick - in a case like this it will be extremely difficult to overturn them after won by popular vote and after people have already begun marrying under the law.
Ugh... Gov should have no say in marriage what-so-ever. It's a personal, religious, and cultural matter.
All three have officially passed. This is an amazing win for the side of marriage equality! Three separate states, approved the right of gay couples to web, by majority vote. The tide of history truly is turning.
when the votes go the other way I've noted that you then support judicial activism; why is that? What we again have are people voting to determine if how you have sex makes you a new species/gender. It's just nuts. I stand by my belief that govt has no business in marriage and the only thing this nonsense does is create jobs for those lobbying. We have a huge nat'l debt and a re-elected POTUS with no clue how to address that. That issue is far and away more important than what 2 people do in their bedroom
Not sure which 3 you were referring to, but there are 4 states that were at play. Minnesota narrowly voted against a ban, washington state is still counting their votes so there's no reliable projection for them yet but it's expected to pass.So that makes it 4 for 4.
It would be interesting to know what voter turnout was like in those four states. I can't help but think back to the 2004 election, when Rove used marriage as a wedge issue to drive Republican voters to the polls for Bush. Eight years later we see the first voter approvals of marriage equality for same-sex couples. That's a really short time frame. But I don't think this reversal of direction should be overstated. These are very narrow margins compared to the splits when the 2004 amendments passed. To me, this doesn't translate as momentum toward repealing those earlier bans. I'm wondering how much effort will be made to repeal the enactments in Maine, Maryland, and Washington (if voters do indeed approve that state's new marriage law). I doubt the fight is over in Minnesota, either. The ban supporters have deep pockets. They'll almost certainly be back.
That's funny, I could have sworn that it contains over 1,500 clauses enabling more rights for the people who enter such contracts.... What makes me laugh is that when state Supreme Courts were declaring a constitutional right to SSM conservatives whined about them "legislating from the bench". Then when states legislators started legalising it they complained that they "were acting against the people's wishes. Now THE PEOPLE have legalised it by referendum in 3 states (and probably now many more to follow - New Jersey, Rhode Island, Illinois, Hawaii and maybe even Ohio) what are they going to say??? That the people don't have this right and Congress should pass the Federal Marriage Amendment to **** all over states rights?! This is a remarkable turning point. Regardless of them being blue states, it's testament to the shift in opinion and a taste of things to come. California rejected SSM in '08 but now look at what's happening. A key aspect is black people's shifting opinions and a large Hispanic margin of support.
The only way you can repeal a statute passed by referendum is if either opponents control both state legislators and the Governorship (not going to happen in blue Washington, Maryland and Maine - look at what happened in NH), court action (which would be thrown out), or another referendum. All three are like the biggest long shots conceivable, without a massive turn-around of public opinion on SSM, which the trend clearly does not support.
