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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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National News |
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| National News | |
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by Rex Wockner -
SGN Contributing Writer Californians will vote on same-sex marriage They're gonna vote on whether you are a full American. Anti-Gay activists have succeeded in qualifying an initiative for the November 4 ballot to amend the California Constitution to undo the state Supreme Court's recent ruling that opened marriage to same-sex couples. The ruling takes effect, and the weddings begin, on June 16 at 5 p.m. The activists had to submit 694,354 valid petition signatures to qualify the initiative for a vote. They submitted 1,120,801 and, on June 2, Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a spot-check of 3 percent of the signatures found that a high enough percentage of them were valid to extrapolate that the threshold would be met if all 1.1 million were checked. The amendment will state: "Only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The latest poll on the issue, a respected California Field Poll released May 28, found that 51 percent of registered California voters support same-sex marriage, 42 percent oppose it and 7 percent have no opinion. The poll found that 54 percent oppose amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage, 40 percent favor an amendment and 6 percent have no opinion. The biggest support for same-sex marriage came from younger voters, Democrats, liberals, nonreligious people and residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County. The strongest opposition came from older people, Republicans, conservatives, born-again Christians, Protestants and residents of the Central Valley and Southern California counties apart from L.A. County. Observers predict that the battle may be won or lost in the populous Southern California counties of Orange and San Diego. Women (53 percent) polled more supportive than men (48 percent) with 8 percent of each having no opinion and the rest opposed. A majority of respondents up to age 49 favored same-sex marriage, while a majority of people over age 50 opposed it. The poll questioned 1,052 voters and had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. USA Today/Gallup poll finds 63% support for same-sex marriage A USA Today/Gallup poll released June 3 found that 63 percent of Americans believe the government has no business passing laws banning same-sex marriage and 30 percent think the government should not prevent polygamy either. Respondents were asked whether the decision to marry should strictly be a private decision between two people who want to marry or if the government has the right to pass laws to prohibit marriages between two people of the same sex. Sixty-three percent said it's a private decision, 33 percent said the government should get involved and 4 percent had no opinion. The respondents also expressed support for marriage between people of different religions (97 percent approved) and people of different races (95 percent approved). But only 30 percent said they are OK with more than two people getting married to each other, so-called plural marriage, or polygamy. People of all ages except those over 65 said Gay couples should be able to marry, with support topping out at 79 percent among people age 18 to 29. People in all regions of the country supported same-sex marriage, with support strongest in the East at 71 percent, followed by the West (64 percent), the Midwest (63 percent) and the South (56 percent). Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they had friends, relatives or co-workers who had personally told them they are Gay or Lesbian. Some observers said the poll's high level of support for same-sex marriage could have been, in part, a function of the question's odd wording contrasting a private decision with government restrictions. The poll of 1,012 adults was conducted May 30 to June 1 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. N.Y. governor sued over Gay-marriage decision Five state lawmakers and the right-wing legal group Alliance Defense Fund sued New York Gov. David Paterson on June 3, hoping to block his order that state agencies must recognize same-sex marriages entered into in places where they are legal. The suit claims that only the Legislature can redefine marriage and seeks an injunction halting implementation of the order. Paterson has said he merely complied with a recent court decision that found that a community college could not deny benefits to the wife of a female employee - the couple married in Canada - because New York policy recognizes marriages performed outside the state. Same-sex marriage is allowed in Belgium, California, Canada, Denmark, Massachusetts, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain. Obama celebrates Gay pride Presidential candidate Barack Obama said June 6 that his campaign is actively participating in more than 60 Gay pride events this summer, as detailed at pride.barackobama.com/pridemonth. "I am proud to join with our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered brothers and sisters in celebrating the accomplishments, the lives, and the families of all LGBT people during this Pride season," Obama said in a statement. "It's time to live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. Let's enact federal civil rights legislation to outlaw hate crimes and protect workers against discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Let's repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell and demonstrate that the most effective and professional military in the world is open to all Americans who are ready and willing to serve our country. Let's treat the relationships and the families of LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. ... "Generations of LGBT Americans, at once ordinary and extraordinary, have made possible this moment in our history. With leadership and hard work, we can fulfill the promise of equality for all," Obama said. With assistance from Bill Kelley |
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| pictures: top - David Paterson bottom - Barack Obama |
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