The legislatures of Maine and New Hampshire voted on Wednesday to amend the definition of marriage to include couples of the same sex. Maine Governor John Balducci wasted no time signing the bill into law. In New Hampshire, barring an unlikely veto, the bill will become law in five days, with or without the signature of Gov. John Lynch.
So, by Monday, barring any surprise, there will be five states that give homosexual marriage equal legal recognition as the traditional one-man, one-woman union, Interestingly, though, Balducci was the first governor to sign same-sex marriage into law, as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa enacted the law by state supreme court ruling, and Vermont legislators overrode that governor's veto.
There is a good chance that the status of marriage in Maine will change, though, as a petition drive is underway make use of the state's people's veto provision.
Rhode Island is now the only New England state that has not acted to allow same-sex couples to marry, although there is a bill before the legislature that would change that. According to same-sex marriage strategists, the Ocean State is not expected to go the way of its New England brethren until Gov. Donald Carcieri ends his term in 2011. A more likely state to join the New England defectors is New York, which also has a bill in the legislature and has a governor willing to sign it into law. Recent Polling shows that about 53 percent of New Yorkers favor giving same sex marriage equal status to traditional marriage.
Across the nation the sentiment still leans toward traditional marriage. A recent CNN/Opinion Research poll finds that 54 percent of Americans favor keeping the legal definition of marriage as it has been. Broken down by age, though, tells a different story.
Poll respondents younger than 35 favor extending marriage benefits to same-sex couples by 59 percent. Only 40 percent of respondents between 35 and 65 favored same-sex marriage, and less than a quarter of those of retirement age were so inclined.
Taking the activity of this past year might give the perception that states are lining up in droves to embrace same-sex marriage. Actually this has been just a temporary spike in activity, the culmination of a long, concerted effort by same-sex advocates to try to win the most vulnerable states. That flurry is dying down as only three states (other than those mentioned above) have the same-sex marriage blip on the radar screen: Washington, New Jersey and California.
Within days, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire is expected to sign a bill that gives full legal rights to all "couples" in the state. The only difference is that the same-sex relationship is not officially called "marriage" by the state.
In New Jersey earlier this year, a state commission ruled that the civil union law passed in 2007 didn't afford equal protection for same-sex couples, and they have urged the New Jersey legislature to pass a law legalizing same-sex unions.
California, whose Supreme Court last May ruled unconstitutional a state statute to prohibit same-sex marriage, is now in deliberation again. In March they heard arguments about the recently passed Proposition 8, which constitutionally defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman only. The justices have yet to issue their opinion. Many are citing legal experts who believe that the court will uphold the Constitutional definition. However, reading through the reasoning behind last year's judicial opinion that for a short time made homosexual marriage legal, it is conceivable that the court may once again overrule the public. That ruling is expected within weeks, if not days.
Stumble It!
