Right-wing religious campaigns against marriage equality are suffering setbacks in Ohio, California and Massachusetts.
In
Ohio, an effort to push an anti-gay marriage law through the legislature is failing, as the recent Massachusetts ruling for marriage equality hasn't seemed to spur the revolt the religious right had hoped for. Although the Republican governor has said he'll sign the bill, there don't seem to be enough votes in the Republican senate to get it to his desk. The Republican senate president says it's not a "high priority," and won't commit to putting it to a full vote. Democrats say there isn't enough senate support, and that there are larger issues in Ohio.
California, home of a smashing 61-to-39 percent victory for a "defense of marriage" proposition in 2000, also seems to be unable to whip up much anti-gay marriage sentiment these days. Gov. Gray Davis signed a sweeping, Vermont-like domestic partnership law this year that granted gay and other unmarried couples nearly every right of marriage, prompting fury from the religious right that Davis had violated the "will of the people." But a group attempting to overturn the DP law with yet another proposition has now failed to meet the December 4 deadline to file enough petition signatures to put it on the ballot.
In Massachusetts, after the marriage equality ruling, the threat of a statewide anti-gay backlash also fizzled, with a Boston Globe poll after the ruling showing 50 percent in favor, 38 percent opposed in the state. And Massachusetts residents opposed a state constitutional amendment against marriage equality by a 53-to-36 percent margin.
Does this mean the anti-gay marriage movement is floundering? Not quite: a Pew Research poll released just before the Massachusetts ruling showed 59 percent of Americans oppose gay marriage, an increase from 53 percent in July, mainly among very religious Americans. Only 32 percent were in favor. But it does appear that right-wing groups are having a much tougher time converting this anti-gay marriage sentiment into political gain. Where is the fervor?
