When the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional it had wide ranging consequences for states with and without equal marriage. In the 13 states and DC where same-sex marriage is legal, same-sex couples who were legally married became eligible for over 1100 benefits from the federal government! Obviously this had wide ranging consequences for those states with same-sex marriage but is also had a large affect on the six states with civil unions, and even those with zero recognition.
Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada and Oregon all have legalised civil unions. This effectively gave same-sex couples in these states equal access to state benefits as opposite-sex couples, usually only withholding the word marriage. The Supreme Court ruling in June matters a lot in those states as now there is a difference between civil unions and full marriage. The federal government doesn't recognise civil unions and so withholds 1100 benefits from same-sex couples in the above six states that it doesn't withhold from those in states with full marriage.
Previously supporters of gay rights in civil union states didn't feel an urgent need to legalise full marriage as all state benefits could be provided by civil unions. Now gay rights activists can turn round to supporters and tell them that they need to be more proactive when it comes to marriage as now there is a very real difference between marriage and civil unions.
We can already tell this has indeed changed things. In Hawaii, Governor Neil Abercrombie has announced that he will recall the state legislature for a special session on the 28th of October to vote on a same-sex marriage bill. Most people predict that it will pass as the governor would be unlikely to recall the legislature if he didn't have enough votes. As well as that the Hawaiian legislature is the most Democratic in the country. The house is 86% Democratic (44 Democrats, seven Republicans) and in the Senate it is an incredible 96% Democratic with 24 Democrats and only one Republican.
Illinois is the only other state where the legislature may be spurred into action. A same-sex marriage bill passed the Democratic state Senate 34-21 but was never called to vote in the House. With the veto session looming it could actually pass the legislature and get it signed into law by Governor Quinn.
Hawaii and Illinois are the only states who are likely to pass same-sex marriage in the next few months. Of the 38 states who do not have legal same-sex marriage, 30 have a constitutional ban on it, which means that the legislature in those states cannot legalise it. Of the remaining states that are liberal, Pennsylvania is completely controlled by Republicans whilst New Mexico and New Jersey have Republican governors that are opposed to same-sex marriage. The other three states without a constitutional ban are Indiana, West Virginia and Wyoming which are all very conservative.
Yet state legislatures are not the only way to legalise same-sex marriage. The judiciary and referendums are also means. At the moment organisations in Ohio and Oregon are collecting signatures to try and put marriage equality on the ballot. In Oregon, Oregon United for Marriage began collecting signatures on the 26th of July, exactly one month after the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA. At the time of writing it has gotten 80,764 signatures of the 116,284 required to put it on the ballot. Unfortunately I can't find anything on the progress the Ohio petition has made.
The DOMA decision has also driven gay rights activists to the courts. Already suits have been filed across the US from New Mexico to Michigan, already judges have cited the DOMA decision as a reason why they gave pro-gay decisions.
Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada and Oregon all have legalised civil unions. This effectively gave same-sex couples in these states equal access to state benefits as opposite-sex couples, usually only withholding the word marriage. The Supreme Court ruling in June matters a lot in those states as now there is a difference between civil unions and full marriage. The federal government doesn't recognise civil unions and so withholds 1100 benefits from same-sex couples in the above six states that it doesn't withhold from those in states with full marriage.
Previously supporters of gay rights in civil union states didn't feel an urgent need to legalise full marriage as all state benefits could be provided by civil unions. Now gay rights activists can turn round to supporters and tell them that they need to be more proactive when it comes to marriage as now there is a very real difference between marriage and civil unions.
We can already tell this has indeed changed things. In Hawaii, Governor Neil Abercrombie has announced that he will recall the state legislature for a special session on the 28th of October to vote on a same-sex marriage bill. Most people predict that it will pass as the governor would be unlikely to recall the legislature if he didn't have enough votes. As well as that the Hawaiian legislature is the most Democratic in the country. The house is 86% Democratic (44 Democrats, seven Republicans) and in the Senate it is an incredible 96% Democratic with 24 Democrats and only one Republican.
Illinois is the only other state where the legislature may be spurred into action. A same-sex marriage bill passed the Democratic state Senate 34-21 but was never called to vote in the House. With the veto session looming it could actually pass the legislature and get it signed into law by Governor Quinn.
Hawaii and Illinois are the only states who are likely to pass same-sex marriage in the next few months. Of the 38 states who do not have legal same-sex marriage, 30 have a constitutional ban on it, which means that the legislature in those states cannot legalise it. Of the remaining states that are liberal, Pennsylvania is completely controlled by Republicans whilst New Mexico and New Jersey have Republican governors that are opposed to same-sex marriage. The other three states without a constitutional ban are Indiana, West Virginia and Wyoming which are all very conservative.
Yet state legislatures are not the only way to legalise same-sex marriage. The judiciary and referendums are also means. At the moment organisations in Ohio and Oregon are collecting signatures to try and put marriage equality on the ballot. In Oregon, Oregon United for Marriage began collecting signatures on the 26th of July, exactly one month after the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA. At the time of writing it has gotten 80,764 signatures of the 116,284 required to put it on the ballot. Unfortunately I can't find anything on the progress the Ohio petition has made.
The DOMA decision has also driven gay rights activists to the courts. Already suits have been filed across the US from New Mexico to Michigan, already judges have cited the DOMA decision as a reason why they gave pro-gay decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment