Most Americans Favor Marriage Equality
Thanks to David at Equality Loudon for pointing out this recent article in the New York Times.
That graph is about as clear as anything you could imagine. One trend falls, another rises, they meet and cross. After thirty years of discussing this issue, most people realize that it makes sense to allow people to marry without having to submit their partnership to government approval.
(It's still too controversial though for our cowardly leaders in the Maryland state legislature, who annually find procedural ways to avoid sending a solid marriage bill to the governor.)
A poll from CNN this week is the latest to show a majority of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage, with 51 percent saying that marriages between gay and lesbian couples “should be recognized by the law as valid” and 47 percent opposed.
This is the fourth credible poll in the past eight months to show an outright majority of Americans in favor of gay marriage. That represents quite a lot of progress for supporters of same-sex marriage. Prior to last year, there had been just one survey — a Washington Post poll conducted in April 2009 — to show support for gay marriage as the plurality position, and none had shown it with a majority.
As we noted last August, support for gay marriage seems to have been increasing at an accelerated pace over the past couple of years. Below is an update to the graph from last year’s article, which charts the trend from all available public polls on same-sex marriage going back to 1988.
The trendline — derived through regression smoothing — estimates that about 50 percent of Americans now support gay marriage and that 46 percent are opposed, with a small percentage of voters undecided. By contrast, at this time two years ago, the numbers were 42 percent in favor and 53 percent opposed, according to the same technique. Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority
That graph is about as clear as anything you could imagine. One trend falls, another rises, they meet and cross. After thirty years of discussing this issue, most people realize that it makes sense to allow people to marry without having to submit their partnership to government approval.
(It's still too controversial though for our cowardly leaders in the Maryland state legislature, who annually find procedural ways to avoid sending a solid marriage bill to the governor.)
posted by JimK at 10:21 AM
12 Comments:
"After thirty years of discussing this issue, most people realize that it makes sense to allow people to marry without having to submit their partnership to government approval."
you can "marry" anywhere in America without government approval
what gays want is for the government to endorse their "union" with other individuals of the same gender and force everyone else to treat them as "married"
the attempt to get government coercion is coming from gays not pro-family groups
that's also why these polls are misleading
Then we have this. The latest. Seems like more and more gays do not want to get married.They want to get HIV/AIDS
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/resources/slides/general/slides/general_4.pdf
"you can "marry" anywhere in America without government approval"
The specifications for obtaining a marriage license vary between states. In general, however, both parties must appear in person at the time the license is obtained; be of marriageable age (i.e. over 18 years; lower in some states with the consent of a parent); present proper identification (typically a driver's license, state ID card, birth certificate or passport; more documentation may be required for those born outside of the United States); and neither must be married to anyone else (proof of spouse's death or divorce may be required, by someone who had been previously married in some states).
Many states require 1 to 6 days to pass, between the granting of the license and the marriage ceremony. After the marriage ceremony, both spouses and the officiant sign the marriage license (some states also require a witness). The officiant or couple then files for a certified copy of the marriage license and a marriage certificate with the appropriate authority. Some states also have a requirement that a license be filed within a certain time after its issuance, typically 30 or 60 days, following which a new license must be obtained.
The requirement for marriage licenses in the U.S. has been justified on the basis that the state has an overriding right, on behalf of all citizens and in the interests of the larger social welfare, to protect them from disease or improper/illegal marriages; to keep accurate state records; or even to ensure that marriage partners have had adequate time to think carefully before marrying.
Some states require a blood test to verify that the applicants are not carrying syphilis, a sexually-transmitted disease. As of 2010, Mississippi and Montana require blood tests; Connecticut, Wisconsin, Georgia, Indiana, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia have withdrawn the blood testing requirements in the last few years.
In the early part of the 20th century, the requirement for a marriage license was used as a mechanism to prohibit whites from marrying blacks, mulattos, Japanese, Chinese, Native Americans, Mongolians, Malays or Filipinos. By the 1920s, 38 states used the mechanism. These laws have since been declared invalid by the Courts.
In the United States, until the mid-19th century, common-law marriages were recognised as valid, but thereafter the states began to invalidate common-law marriages. At present eleven states and the District of Columbia recognise common-law marriages. Common-law marriages, if recognised, are valid, notwithstanding the absence of a marriage license.
However, with the resurgence of the historical Supreme Court case Meister v. Moore in 1877, the Supreme Court has ruled that "marriage is a common right" and that the state laws or statutes that have been created before or since are not legal constraints, but "are mere directives," thereby retaining the legal weight of recommendation only. Because of this Federal license, it is illegal for any state to mandate any form of license or ceremony and, technically, all states must recognize "common law" marriages of all citizens.
and two individuals of the same gender don't meet the definition of a partnership called marriage
but they're free to call theselves what they want
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval rating has hit its highest point in two years – 60 percent – and more than half of Americans now say he deserves to be re-elected, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll taken after U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
In worrisome signs for Republicans, the president's standing improved not just on foreign policy but also on the economy, and independent Americans – a key voting bloc in the November 2012 presidential election – caused the overall uptick in support by sliding back to Obama after fleeing for much of the past two years.
Comfortable majorities of the public now call Obama a strong leader who will keep America safe. Nearly three-fourths – 73 percent – also now say they are confident that Obama can effectively handle terrorist threats. And he improved his standing on Afghanistan, Iraq and the United States' relationships with other countries.
Despite a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession, 52 percent of Americans now approve of Obama's stewardship of the economy, giving him his best rating on that issue since the early days of his presidency; 52 percent also now like how he's handling the nation's stubbornly high 9 percent unemployment.
With former Utah governor and Obama ambassador to China Jon Huntsman getting ready to enter the GOP presidential race, it will be interesting to see how his opponents address he support of civil unions for gay people. See http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705284093/Hunstman-calls-self-moderating-voice-on-many-issues.html
"our cowardly leaders in the Maryland state legislature"
that's true, they are cowardly
what you guys need to do is replace them with Republicans in the nexxt election
right now, they take you for granted
and another thing, when are they going to legalize the delivery of wine to your house?
Virginians are closely divided over whether gay marriage should be legal, according to a new Washington Post poll, a striking result in a state that overwhelmingly agreed to amend its constitution to ban gay marriage just five years ago.
Forty-seven percent of Virginians say gay couples should be allowed to legally wed, and 43 percent are opposed, according to the poll. Fifty-five percent of Virginians say gay couples should be able to legally adopt children.
The results mirror a dramatic and rapid shift in national public opinion about gay rights in recent years. The evolving public opinion could create a challenge in the key political battleground for the commonwealth’s Republicans, who are almost universally opposed to gay marriage, if voters think the GOP is falling out of sync with the electorate. But the results also present complications for Virginia Democrats, who have moved more slowly than their national counterparts to embrace liberal social stands for fear of alienating independent voters.
In 2006, 57 percent of voters agreed that Virginia should add language to the state constitution prohibiting marriage — or any approximation of the institution, including civil unions — between same-sex couples.
More about Gov. Huntsman.
http://www.sltrib.com/csp/cms/sites/sltrib/pages/printerfriendly.csp?id=51795519
The tea party will bag him.
these polls showing Americans favor gay "marriage" have been released regularly over the last forty years
never seems to translate into a victory at the ballot box, though, after the issue has been discussed during the public debate of a referendum campaign and state legislatures always lack faith in these polls so gay judges seem to be the only hope for this
which brings us back to constitutional amendments, which are generally won by pro-family groups
the gay side won't win
the gay side lacks passion because, let's face it, they don't want to be married
they want to destroy marriage as a fundamental building block of society
face facts, TTF
A stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. commandos who killed him, current and former U.S. officials said on Friday.
The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The officials said they were not yet sure precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it.
Reports from Abbottabad have said that bin Laden's compound was cut off from the Internet or other hard-wired communications networks. It is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography.
But a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment.
Materials carted away from the compound by the U.S. commandos included digital thumb drives, which U.S. officials believe may have been a principal means by which couriers carried electronic messages to and from the late al Qaeda leader.
Three other U.S. officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases.
Here are the comments that were lost on this thread in the recent Blogger crash:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
"our cowardly leaders in the Maryland state legislature"
that's true, they are cowardly
what you guys need to do is replace them with Republicans in the nexxt election
right now, they take you for granted
and another thing, when are they going to legalize the delivery of wine to your house?
May 12, 2011 8:39 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Virginians are closely divided over whether gay marriage should be legal, according to a new Washington Post poll, a striking result in a state that overwhelmingly agreed to amend its constitution to ban gay marriage just five years ago.
Forty-seven percent of Virginians say gay couples should be allowed to legally wed, and 43 percent are opposed, according to the poll. Fifty-five percent of Virginians say gay couples should be able to legally adopt children.
The results mirror a dramatic and rapid shift in national public opinion about gay rights in recent years. The evolving public opinion could create a challenge in the key political battleground for the commonwealth’s Republicans, who are almost universally opposed to gay marriage, if voters think the GOP is falling out of sync with the electorate. But the results also present complications for Virginia Democrats, who have moved more slowly than their national counterparts to embrace liberal social stands for fear of alienating independent voters.
In 2006, 57 percent of voters agreed that Virginia should add language to the state constitution prohibiting marriage — or any approximation of the institution, including civil unions — between same-sex couples.
May 12, 2011 9:51 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
More about Gov. Huntsman.
http://www.sltrib.com/csp/cms/sites/sltrib/pages/printerfriendly.csp?id=51795519
The tea party will bag him.
May 12, 2011 10:02 AM
Anonymous Anonymous said...
these polls showing Americans favor gay "marriage" have been released regularly over the last forty years
never seems to translate into a victory at the ballot box, though, after the issue has been discussed during the public debate of a referendum campaign and state legislatures always lack faith in these polls so gay judges seem to be the only hope for this
which brings us back to constitutional amendments, which are generally won by pro-family groups
the gay side won't win
the gay side lacks passion because, let's face it, they don't want to be married
they want to destroy marriage as a fundamental building block of society
face facts, TTF
May 12, 2011 10:13 AM
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