Voters pass all 11 bans on gay marriage

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE
• VOTERS PASS ALL 11 BANS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE
• BH BACKS AMENDMENT BANNG GAY MARRIAGE
• SENATE VOTE BLOCKS EFFORT TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE CONSTUTN
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR
• SENATE BEGS DEBATE ON GAY MARRIAGE BAN
• RSIAN NSTUTN CHANGE ENDS HOP FOR GAY MARRIAGE

GAY MARRIAGE

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn.

VOTERS PASS ALL 11 BANS ON GAY MARRIAGE

” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups. Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners. C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch.

Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs. That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S. Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v.

BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE

The state fally troduced the untry to gay marriage (m the feral benefs) when began issug same-sex marriage licens on May 17, that year, the U. 2004 was notable for upl many other stat as well, though for the oppose reason: Ten typilly nservative stat, along wh Oregon, enacted state-level bans on gay marriage. Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire.

Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. Perry legalized same-sex marriage early 2010s ntued the state-level battl over gay marriage that fed the precedg , wh at least one notable event. For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal.

Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000. In others – most recently Alabama – ’s been state or feral judg forcg the toehold long sought by gay rights advot and bterly ntted by those who argue marriage is an stutn rerved solely for one man and one woman.

BH BACKS AMENDMENT BANNG GAY MARRIAGE

The state’s nstutnal ban on gay marriage, passed 2004, was stck down twice last year – once by a state urt judge and aga by a U. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circu later overturned the lg, restatg gay marriage bans Kentucky and four other stat.

SENATE VOTE BLOCKS EFFORT TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE CONSTUTN

The print said he cid to endorse an amendment bee of the Massachetts Supreme Judicial Court's recent cisn grantg marriage rights to same-sex upl, and San Francis Mayor Gav Newsom's cisn two weeks ago to beg givg marriage licens to gay and lbian upl. Bh's ments were swiftly nmned by Democratic Party lears as an attempt to wre discrimatn to the Constutn and by a gay civil rights group as gay bashg. Constutn, and is shameful to e attacks agast gay and lbian fai as an electn strategy, " said Democratic Natnal Commtee Chairman Terry McAuliffe said a statement.

Kerry, the ont-nner for the Democratic printial nomatn, has said he supports civil unns and equal protectn for gays and lbians but that he oppos marriage for them. The lear of the natn's largt gay and lbian polil anizatn lled Bh's support for such an amendment a sperate attempt to help his re-electn bid and acced him of wantg to bash gay and lbian fai.

11 stat approve nstutnal amendments to outlaw gay nuptials Alison Wood, right, lets her adopted dghter Hanna Wood-Ksell put a ballot to the box Tuday as Wood's partner Nancy Ksell watch, Rockport, Massachetts. (CNN) -- Six months after gay and lbian upl won the right to marry Massachetts, opponents of same-sex marriage stck back Tuday, wh voters 11 stat approvg nstutnal amendments difyg marriage as an exclively heterosexual Arkansas, Geia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oh, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments by double-dig clost race me Oregon, where gay rights groups ncentrated much of their effort and money and thought they had the bt chance of wng. 8 ln, enough to n TV and rad ads the Beaver State and outspend pro-amendment forc, acrdg to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task, the end, the amendment passed by a marg of 57 percent to 43 the remag stat, the amendments passed wh 60 percent of the vote or more, wh the marg at a whoppg 86 percent ph to amend state nstutns to ban same-sex marriage gaed steam May, after gay men and lbians were granted the right to marry Massachetts, thanks to the state's Supreme Judicial Court, which led that laws rtrictg marriage to heterosexuals vlated the state the wake of that lg, San Francis Mayor Gav Newsom orred his cy clerk to beg issug marriage licens to same-sex upl, sayg the California nstutn also did not allow such distctns to be ma.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR

Lol officials a number of other stat, cludg Oregon and New York, followed his ntroversial California Supreme Court later led that Newsom had overstepped his thory, although the legal fight over the larger nstutnal qutn has yet to be the backlash grew, opponents of gay and lbian marriage, cludg many relig nservativ, moved quickly to put amendments on state ballots to short-circu siar lgs om urts sympathetic to the argument that rtrictg marriage to oppose-sex upl was discrimatory. Opponents of gay and lbian marriage are also phg a feral nstutnal amendment that would ban same-sex marriage natnwi, though failed to ga the need two-thirds majory to pass when me up for vot both the Hoe and feral amendment beme an issue the printial race, wh Print Bh supportg the measure and Sen.

"Public opn do not change overnight, " said Joan Garry, executive director for the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn. "In eight of the 11 stat that voted Tuday, the nstutnal amendments nta addnal language that opponents said uld also ban civil unns and other legal protectns for gay and lbian people, though proponents some of those stat disputed those claims. Elated by an 11-for-11 rejectn of gay marriage state electns, nservativ Wednday urged Congrs to follow su by approvg a feral nstutnal amendment that would extend the prohibn natnwi.

Rights activists: ‘Right hook to the ch’Matt Foreman of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force scribed the electn rults as “a right hook to the ch... ” Oregon reprented gay-rights groups’ bt hope for victory, but an amendment banng same-sex marriage prevailed there wh 57 percent of the vot, leavg some activists tears.

SENATE BEGS DEBATE ON GAY MARRIAGE BAN

”’ Robert Knight of the nservative Culture and Fay Instute said the rults should motivate Congrs to rensir a feral nstutnal amendment banng gay marriage — a measure that earlier this year failed to get the need two-thirds support the Hoe and Senate bee of strong Democratic opposn. Supreme Court cisn that ced the feral Constutn, which is why nservativ want an anti-gay marriage amendment passed by Congrs. Lambda Legal, which is volved many of the lawsus, urged gay upl to turn to the urts only if there was a reasonable chance of victory.

Acrdg to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task Force, there are roughly 2 ln people those stat who live hoeholds head by same-sex upl and uld be harmed by the amendments — cludg state universy employe whose domtic partnership benefs uld be jeopardy Michigan, Oh and Utah.

Idaho and North Carola voters elected their first openly gay legislators, and an openly gay Hispanic woman, Lupe Valz, was elected unty sheriff Dallas. 24 — Print Bh said today he supported a nstutnal amendment banng gay marriage, clarg that such a measure was the only way to protect the stat of marriage between man and woman, which he lled "the most fundamental stutn of civilizatn.

RSIAN NSTUTN CHANGE ENDS HOP FOR GAY MARRIAGE

Bh did not suggt specific wordg for an amendment, but his remarks were immediately weled by his nservative backers, many of whom had been urgg him to speak out, and nounced by gay-rights supporters. "Not sce the days of Jim Crow segregatn has our natn faced the prospect of discrimatn wrten to law such a shameful way, " said David Tseng, executive director of Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbians and Gays.

Bh to speak out, pecially sce the hight urt Massachetts led recently that was ntrary to the state nstutn to bar gay upl om marriage. The Massachetts urt held part that civil unns, as opposed to full-fledged marriage, subjected gay upl to send-class stat.