Crossposted at Asian Pacific Americans for Progress:
2012 is turning into a watershed year for marriage equality. In just the past few weeks, there's been a lot of developments on the fight for equality. If all goes well, by November, LGBT Americans could have access to marriage in four additional states. (Of course, there would still be discrimination on the federal level, thanks to DOMA.) Here's a quick rundown:
Washington - On January 4, outgoing Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire introduced a bill to legalize gay marriage in her state. With the Governor's support and overwhelming numbers in the Assembly, all eyes turned to the state's Senate. Starting wtith 21 of the 25 needed votes to pass in the state's Senate, the numbers continued to trickle in until the 25th vote was secured by State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen:
“To some degree, this is generational,” she added. “Years ago I took exception to my parents’ beliefs on certain social issues, and today my children take exception to some of mine. Times change, even if it makes us uncomfortable. I think we should all be uncomfortable sometime . . .
“I have very strong Christian beliefs, and personally I have always said when I accepted the Lord, I became more tolerant of others. I stopped judging people and try to live by the Golden Rule. This is part of my decision. I do not believe it is my role to judge others, regardless of my personal beliefs.
“It’s not always easy to do that. For me personally, I have always believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. That is what I believe, to this day.
“But this issue isn’t about what I believe. It’s about respecting others, including people who may believe differently than I. It’s about whether everyone has the same opportunities for love and companionship and family and security that I have enjoyed.
“For as long as I have been alive, living in my country has been about having the freedom to live according to our own personal and religious beliefs, and having people respect that freedom.”
It's important to pass with as wide a margin as possible. There are still four undecided votes including Asian American state Senator Paull Shin who still has not revealed how he will vote. You can contact him at:
Olympia Office: (360) 786-7640
District Office: (425) 673-1393
Paull.Shin@leg.wa.gov
New Jersey - The Democrats in New Jersey probably have the numbers to pass marriage equality in both the Assembly and Senate. After all, a recent poll by Quinnipiac showed that 52% of the state actually supports marriage equality, the first time a majority has been registered. The one person standing in the way is Republican Governer and Presidential-wannabe Chris Christie, who has vowed to veto the bill. Most recently, Christie said the issue should be put to a vote of the public. When some Democrats responded that civil rights should never be put to a vote by the public, Christie pushed back by saying:
"The fact of the matter is, I think people would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets in the South," he said Tuesday at a news conference after a town hall meeting in Bridgewater, N.J., according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Well, that comment has upset some African Americans lawmakers:
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Newark Mayor Cory Booker said in separate forums that civil rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and don't belong on the ballot.
Booker said baseball great Jackie Robinson would not have had the opportunity to break the sport's color barrier had the matter been put to a vote, and the mayor himself would not have had the opportunity, years later, to be elected to lead New Jersey's largest city. Oliver said in a statement she was offended by Christie's comment Tuesday that bloodshed may have been avoided in the South, and people would have been happier, if the civil rights issues of the 1960s were settled by public referendum.
"Governor, people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method," Oliver said. "It took legislative action to bring justice to all Americans, just as legislative action is the right way to bring marriage equality to all New Jerseyans."
Booker said during a news conference in Newark: "Dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote, to be subject to the sentiments, the passions of the day. No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and the sentiments of the majority. This is the fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for."
The Democrats are trying to secure a veto-proof majority.
Maine - Just today, a coalition of marriage equality activists in Maine, led by EqualityMaine and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, announced that they will proceed with a ballot initiative to strike down the 2009 referendum that overturned same-sex marriage in the state. Assuming enough signatures are certified, the initiative will appear on the ballot this November.
After nearly two years of reaching out to voters in the state, freedom to marry advocates delivered more than 105,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office to put a Citizens Initiative to enact a marriage equality law on the November presidential ballot in Maine.
Coordinated by a coalition of advocacy groups, the effort resulted in an intensive field organizing campaign which is said to have led to recent polling which shows support for marriage equality from Mainers to currently stand at 54%.
Maryland - Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley announced on Monday his legislative agenda, including support for marriage equality. Last year the efforts for marriage equality stalled when it failed in the Senate. This time, O'Malley has shown he will play a more active role in its passage. The move sets off what supporters of the measure expect to be a hard-fought campaign to put marriage equality into law, followed by a likely referendum fight.
The Baltimore Sun reports that O’Malley said he hoped the new language would make the religious protections “a little clearer” and help the bill garner “additional support.” The bill passed the senate for the first time last year with bipartisan support, but opposition from lawmakers with religious ties, including those connected to influential African-American churches in Prince George’s County, contributed to the bill’s failure to receive a vote on the house floor.
O’Malley spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said the new bill extends legal protections to leaders of religious groups, compared to last year’s bill that only protected institutions.
Now there are anti-gay marriage initiatives in MN and NC, but over all, it seems that the tide has turned and we are now going on the offensive.