Marriage (and Other LGBT) Equality in Maine
We’re not at all sorry we passed through to lend our support to the No on One campaign. We met amazing, dedicated people who stopped their lives to devote everything they had to ensuring equality for all Mainers–whether they lived in the state or not.
And I still don’t believe that’s how a majority of Mainers feel–it’s just the majority of voters in the 2009 election who feel that way. Who want to deny their neighbors the rights they have. Who believe them to be not worthy of the rights and protections they enjoy simply because of who they love. Who want to make the children of same-sex couples suffer. These are the children most directly affected by marriage equality, make no mistake about it.
Read more
Meeting with Rep. Inslee on the Respect for Marriage Act – Act III: Not Just the Poor Man’s Lawyer
Looking back on it now, I can see the strategy Inslee was using when he began the real conversation with us. Start with a point of agreement. “What do you think of Referendum 71?” he asked.
“Well, we wish it had never happened in the first place, but we think it will pass,” I said. Everyone was still in the room, and I feel a little bad that with Inslee there, his legislative assistant, David, kind of faded into the background.
“My wife and I made a donation to the campaign,” he said. “And I sent out an e-mail in support of it–or at least I think I did–if not, I will.”
Read moreWhat I Learned at Wendy’s: An Accidental Meeting with Small-Town Gay America
Let’s talk about Garfield County, Washington, population 2,060. To my knowledge, I’ve never been there. In fact, until yesterday, I had no idea Garfield County existed. Currently it holds the record for the greatest percentage of voters to reject Referendum 71, the everything-but-marriage referendum. More than 77% voted to reject R-71.*
But nearly 22%, 192 people, voted to uphold the law. Doesn’t sound like much, it’s true. How about this number? 219,897–that’s the number of people who voted to approve R-71 in the yellow counties, the ones like Garfield County, in which a majority of voters rejected R-71.
Read moreThe Morning After the 2009 Election
It’s too early to say for sure, but it looks like the first ever win for a pro-gay initiative on a state ballot. And it’s our state, Washington, that will claim it. The voter-approved law, Senate Bill 5688, will change Washington’s definition of spouse–in every law in which it appears–to include registered domestic partners. For that reason, it’s nicknamed the “everything-but-marriage” law.
We don’t know for sure, though, because too many ballots are still pending. Washington became an all-vote-by-mail state this year, and ballots had to be postmarked, not received, by November 3.
Dawn also finds us at status quo for same-sex marriage on the ballot. Maine, where the results are essentially final, saw a “Yes” answer for Question 1, the challenge to their legislature- and governor-approved law granting same-sex couples marriage rights. That means the law allowing people like us to marry will never take effect.
Read moreElection Fever: Maine and Washington State Referendum Watch
Here at our hotel room in Auburn, Alabama, it’s quiet except for the sound of the TV. My wife and daughter are napping.
In Alabama, Ami would be considered my roommate. My “friend.” And that would probably be how the nice people described our relationship. We’ve left the Promised Land, and it’s a long way to California.
Read more
http://arewemarried.com/feed
