Fresh on the heels of repeal in Maine, N.H. may reconsider gay marriage

[romantico]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 6:50am

Fresh on the heels of repeal in Maine, N.H. may reconsider gay marriage

By Adam D. Krauss
[e-mail]
Thursday, November 5, 2009


DOVER — Now that gay marriage has been defeated in Maine, attention again shifts to New Hampshire, where lawmakers say momentum from Tuesday's vote may fuel legislation to repeal the state's law and give voters a say.

Two proposals are being drafted in the N.H. House: One would repeal the law Gov. John Lynch signed in June and re-establish civil unions; the other is a constitutional amendment that would charge voters with deciding if "the state shall only recognize the union of one man and one woman as marriage."

Supporters of same-sex marriage are strategizing and gearing up for a fight, said Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, who sponsored the gay marriage law. He said momentum doesn't rest with gay-marriage foes.

"The momentum is on our side and those of us who support equality and love over hate," he said Wednesday.


more:

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091105/GJNEWS_01/711059674

[tazber]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 7:07am

This **** is really pissing me off.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but we need more support (legislatively) from Obama. People won't consider gay rights a "real" issue worthy of constitutional protection until there is an example set forth.

The perception that we are just a special interest group is becoming more prevalent.

[romantico]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 7:15am

I agree. Between California and now Maine,gay marriage opponents have inherited this attitude where it's far too easy for them to take away rights.They are out of control.Of course, some support from our President who promised change and is suppose to be a friend to the gay community would not hurt.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 7:37am

Tazber, I'm right there with you.

Would it be so difficult for President Obama to say something along the lines of: it might be difficult for a lot of Americans to perceive and even understand homosexuality, but the civil rights of ALL OUR citizens should not, and will not be put up for a vote in our system.

Plain and simple and right to the point.

He's getting a letter from me today.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 8:14am

I don't understand how something that was put into law, can all of a sudden be given to the general public to possibly be overturned. If that is the case why don't we overturn everything we don't all agree with?

[Luscious]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 8:32am

Why on earth would Obama come out in support of something he doesn't believe in? He has repeatedly gone on record as saying that he is not in favor of gay marriage. He supports civil unions. He also believes that the decision about gay marriage should be made at the state level. So, I don't know what you think you're going to accomplish by writing to him. We continue to put the cart before the horse. Instead of putting all of our thunder behind "gay marriage" we should be fighting with all of our might for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and full federal rights for all. Once we accomplish that, then we can continue to fight for the right to "marry" on a state by state basis.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:11am

"Between California and now Maine,gay marriage opponents have inherited this attitude where it's far too easy for them to take away rights."

It's not particularly easy. They work really hard and keep on plugging because they get energy and inspiration from trying to control other people's lives and condemning their behavior.

Most live and let live people get exhausted from having to defend something so obvious and can't quite keep the momentum up because the opposition is so relentless.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:28am

Lucious, my willing to write to President Obama is my right. Will it accomplish something? Probably not. But I refuse to stand by and continue to let this happen. I totally agree with you on putting our energies behind DOMA, etc.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:47am

And no doubt the voters of New Hampshire will follow in the footsteps of Maine and California, and endorse bigotry.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 9:56am

Most live and let live people get exhausted from having to defend something so obvious and can't quite keep the momentum up because the opposition is so relentless.

Ding ding ding.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:07am

And fresh on those heels comes this heel:

Alabama Lawmaker Wants to Cut Off Domestic Partner Benefits
Alabama Lawmaker Wants to Cut Off Domestic Partner Benefits

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:17am

Remember when the anti-gay marriage people were saying it was just about "marriage" and not about denying rights?

[tazber]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:32am

All these bigoted people can rot in hell.

[Calvin]

Posted: 11/6/09 at 11:53am

Now the Maine bigots want to reinstate sodomy laws.
No kidding

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 5:31pm

It's never about as little as they claim it's about. It's always about the whole enchilada.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/7/09 at 5:40pm

These people won't be happy until we're all rounded up, put onto trains and taken off.

[Jilani]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 2:35am

While the rhetoric from some in NH is undoubtedly ugly, in practical terms, they have pretty much zero chance of reversing gay marriage there. Neither of the two methods for accomplishing the reversal is at all likely to succeed: either (1) the same legislature that already approved gay marriage would have to vote to repeal it AND that legislation would then have to be signed by the governor who already signed gay marriage legislation and has explicitly stated he wouldn't sign a repeal, or (2) the same legislature that passed gay marriage legislation would have to approve, by a 2/3 margin, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage before it could go to the ballot.

Remember that Maine is not New Hampshire. Maine is the state where the legislature repeatedly passed basic anti-discrimination legislation protecting gay people (e.g., you can't be fired just for being gay), only to have it repealed by the so-called "people's veto" before it finally stuck the most recent time it was voted on. Maine is definitely an outlier compared to the rest of New England when it comes to gay rights.

As for the restoration of sodomy laws, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional under the federal constitution back in 2003, so no single state would be able to reinstate them.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 5:05am

Yay! Jilani was here!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 8:26am

Jilani--what do you think of the possibilities of unpopular Democratic governors in New Jersey and New York pushing it through?

[Jilani]

Posted: 11/8/09 at 1:59pm

I don't really know enough about the legislatures in NJ or NY to have an informed opinion, but my guess is that in NY in particular, it would be a tall order, given how tenuous Democratic control of the Senate is there. The chances of it happening in New Jersey are probably higher only because Democrats have a more solid margin in each house there, but it really depends on whether the Democratic leadership is supportive of the issue and willing to possibly burn political capital on it. Perhaps some BWWers who know more about the local politics in NY or NJ could weigh in with better information.