Tag Archives: freedom

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office West Bank crime report, May 17

Posted on May 20, 2013

This information reflects initial calls for service reported by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for the west bank of Jefferson Parish. Locations are approximate due to automated location methods and address inconsistencies, the Sheriff’s Office says. Burglar alarm calls are excluded.

2300 block of 4th Street – May 17, 10:20 a.m., disturbing the peace. 7th Street and Farrington Drive – May 17, 1:40 a.m., disturbing the peace. Airlie Street and Ravenna Street – May 17, 12:51 p.m., suspicious person. 2200 block of Alex Kornman Boulevard – May 17, 5:57 p.m., disturbing the peace. 2500 block of Ames Boulevard – May 17, 4:51 p.m., suspicious person. Ames Boulevard and Barataria Boulevard – May 17, 2:00 p.m., vehicle wreck. Ames Boulevard and Salome Street – May 17, 8:42 p.m., suspicious person. Avenue A and Westbank Exp – May 17, 5:38 p.m., disturbing the peace. 400 block of Avenue K – May 17, 1:37 p.m., residence burglary. Avenue Mont Martre and South Rue Marcel – May 17, 1:06 p.m., suspicious person. 1200 block of Barataria Boulevard – May 17, 11:56 p.m., suspicious person. Barataria Boulevard and Leo Kerner Parkway – May 17, 11:31 a.m., vehicle wreck. 800 block of Behrman Highway – May 17, 10:22 a.m., suspicious person. 2300 block of Belle Chasse Highway – May 17, 2:58 p.m., theft. 2500 block of Belle Chasse Highway – May 17, 6:57 p.m., theft. 2500 block of Belle Chasse Highway – May 17, 7:22 p.m., theft. Betty Street and Second Zion Avenue – May 17, 1:07 a.m., suspicious person. 3800 block of Birchfield Drive – May 17, 2:29 p.m., battery. 900 block of Blk Drake Avenue – May 17, 1:46 p.m., drug law violation. 2500 block of Blk Lapalco Boulevard – May 17, 6:44 p.m., vehicle wreck. 1700 block of Blk Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 11:38 p.m., suspicious person. 1800 block of Blk Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 5:13 p.m., vehicle wreck. 1800 block of Blk Manor Heights Drive – May 17, 5:58 p.m., suspicious person. 5000 block of Blk Oak Drive – May 17, 12:58 p.m., battery. 4900 block of Blk Promanade Boulevard – May 17, 12:37 p.m., vehicle wreck. 100 block of Blk Terry Parkway – May 17, 7:47 p.m., vehicle wreck. 400 block of Brookmeade Drive – May 17, 6:50 p.m., theft. 500 block of Brookmeade Drive – May 17, 4:48 p.m., battery. Brown Avenue and 18th Street – May 17, 2:47 p.m., suspicious person. 2500 block of Buccaneer Drive – May 17, 4:03 p.m., criminal damage. 1800 block of Burnley Drive – May 17, 10:39 p.m., suspicious person. Carrollwood Village Drive and Park Place Drive – May 17, 11:13 a.m., suspicious person. East Claiborne Parkway and Beechgrove Boulevard – May 17, 9:23 a.m., suspicious person. 900 block of North Clark Lane – May 17, 1:09 p.m., suspicious person. 600 block of Commerce Street – May 17, 3:37 p.m., burglary. 2100 block of Constantine Drive – May 17, 1:17 a.m., disturbing the peace. 100 block of Coretta Drive – May 17, 9:36 p.m., vehicle wreck. 2700 block of Corinne Drive – May 17, 12:10 a.m., suspicious person. 1100 block of Crape Myrtle Lane – May 17, 11:55 a.m., rape. 2600 block of Crestwood Road – May 17, 11:37 a.m., vehicle burglary. 100 block of Cypress Loop Drive – May 17, 10:58 a.m., residence burglary. 3800 block of South Deerwood Drive – May 17, 12:02 a.m., residence burglary. Destrehan Avenue and Westbank Exp – May 17, 4:48 p.m., vehicle wreck. 500 block of Diplomat Street – May 17, 4:02 p.m., theft. 1000 block of Eli Court – May 17, 6:11 a.m., suspicious person. 1600 block of Elton Court Road – May 17, 12:53 a.m., illegal discharge of weapon. 1000 block of Estalote Avenue – May 17, 1:19 p.m., suspicious person. 1200 block of Estalote Avenue – May 17, 1:28 p.m., suspicious person. 1800 block of Estalote Avenue – May 17, 8:40 a.m., criminal damage. 7400 block of Etude Drive – May 17, 2:00 p.m., criminal damage. 1900 block of Faith Place – May 17, 6:23 p.m., criminal damage. Feliciana Court – May 17, 11:59 a.m., vehicle wreck. 500 block of Freedom Court – May 17, 12:10 p.m., criminal damage. 1800 block of Hector Avenue – May 17, 1:01 p.m., disturbing the peace. Jean Lafitte Boulevard and Leo Kerner Parkway – May 17, 10:25 p.m., suspicious person. Jean Lafitte Boulevard and Leo Kerner Parkway – May 17, 10:29 p.m., suspicious person. 200 block of Jeffer Drive – May 17, 5:41 p.m., disturbing the peace. Jeffer Drive and Duffy Street – May 17, 3:56 p.m., disturbing the peace. 7400 block of Jessup Drive – May 17, 7:42 a.m., vehicle burglary. 100 block of June Drive – May 17, 10:48 p.m., battery. 100 block of June Drive – May 17, 10:59 p.m., battery. 800 block of Kathy Street – May 17, 7:56 p.m., disturbing the peace. 1500 block of King’s Road – May 17, 1:19 p.m., suspicious person. 4100 block of Lac Bienville Drive – May 17, 8:26 a.m., criminal damage. 2500 block of Lapalco Boulevard – May 17, 8:11 a.m., vehicle wreck. 3600 block of Lapalco Boulevard – May 17, 8:58 p.m., suspicious person. 4800 block of Lapalco Boulevard – May 17, 12:15 p.m., theft. 6200 block of Lapalco Boulevard – May 17, 7:35 p.m., suspicious person. Lapalco Boulevard and Bellemeade Boulevard – May 17, 8:49 a.m., vehicle wreck. Lapalco Boulevard and Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 1:48 p.m., vehicle wreck. Lapalco Boulevard and Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 9:22 p.m., suspicious person. Lapalco Boulevard and Promanade Boulevard – May 17, 8:08 p.m., suspicious person. Lapalco Boulevard and Segnette Boulevard – May 17, 8:15 p.m., suspicious person. Lapalco Boulevard and Woodmere Boulevard – May 17, 3:30 p.m., suspicious person. 2200 block of Litchwood Lane – May 17, 12:57 a.m., battery. 100 block of Madeira Drive – May 17, 9:52 a.m., battery. 1000 block of Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 5:05 p.m., battery. 1400 block of Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 4:24 p.m., vehicle wreck. 1500 block of Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 4:53 p.m., theft. 1900 block of Manhattan Boulevard – May 17, 5:01 p.m., vehicle wreck. Manhattan Boulevard and Gretna Boulevard – May 17, 3:12 p.m., vehicle wreck. Manhattan Boulevard and Gretna Boulevard – May 17, 10:08 p.m., vehicle wreck. 700 block of Maple Avenue – May 17, 4:29 p.m., drug law violation. 1400 block of Maplewood Drive – May 17, 4:27 p.m., disturbing the peace. Max Drive and Longleaf Lane – May 17, 2:49 p.m., suspicious person. Meyers Boulevard and 4th Street – May 17, 9:58 a.m., suspicious person. 2900 block of North Monterey Court – May 17, 12:18 p.m., suspicious person. 5100 block of Mt Rushmore Drive – May 17, 8:23 a.m., suspicious person. Oakwood Drive and Guardian Avenue – May 17, 6:04 p.m., vehicle wreck. 4300 block of Patriot Street – May 17, 8:54 a.m., disturbing the peace. 4300 block of Patriot Street – May 17, 10:05 a.m., disturbing the peace. 500 block of Pine Street – May 17, 11:02 a.m., disturbing the peace. 500 block of Pine Street – May 17, 11:15 a.m., battery. 4900 block of Promanade Boulevard – May 17, 12:17 p.m., vehicle wreck. 1400 block of Quebrada Del Sur – May 17, 11:03 a.m., residence burglary. 500 block of Rene Street – May 17, 8:16 a.m., vehicle wreck. River Road and George Street – May 17, 1:27 a.m., suspicious person. 100 block of Rosalie Drive – May 17, 11:50 a.m., suspicious person. 2200 block of State Avenue – May 17, 3:12 p.m., suspicious person. 1900 block of Stumpf Boulevard – May 17, 9:03 p.m., residence burglary. 1000 block of Tensas Drive – May 17, 1:40 p.m., suspicious person. 3300 block of Timberlane Way – May 17, 7:07 p.m., suspicious person. 3800 block of U South 90 Highway – May 17, 9:06 p.m., suspicious person. 4000 block of U South 90 Highway – May 17, 5:12 a.m., disturbing the peace. U South 90b Highway and Westbank Exp – May 17, 8:38 p.m., vehicle wreck. Ventura Lane and Loring Drive – May 17, 3:35 p.m., vehicle wreck. 3200 block of Wall Boulevard – May 17, 10:03 p.m., battery. 3200 block of Wall Boulevard – May 17, 11:26 p.m., suspicious person. 1800 block of Wellington Drive – May 17, 8:37 p.m., suspicious person. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 11:49 a.m., theft. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 12:45 p.m., theft. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 2:13 p.m., theft. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 2:39 p.m., battery. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 8:22 p.m., suspicious person. 100 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 8:51 p.m., theft. 6200 block of Westbank Exp – May 17, 8:18 p.m., suspicious person. Westbank Exp and Avenue C – May 17, 4:31 p.m., suspicious person. Westbank Exp and Brown Avenue – May 17, 4:48 p.m., vehicle wreck. Westbank Exp and Mac Arthur Avenue – May 17, 8:50 p.m., suspicious person. Westbank Exp and Nine Mile Point Road – May 17, 1:06 a.m., suspicious person. Westwood Drive and Westbank Exp – May 17, 10:41 p.m., disturbing the peace. 300 block of Whitney Avenue – May 17, 9:01 a.m., vehicle wreck. 300 block of Whitney Avenue – May 17, 9:04 a.m., vehicle wreck. 600 block of Yetta Street – May 17, 3:16 p.m., vehicle burglary.

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Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office West Bank crime report, May 17

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Minnesota becomes 12th state to back gay marriage

Posted on May 14, 2013

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, left, sponsor of the gay marriage bill in the Minnesota Senate, and his partner Richard Leyva greet a large, joyous crowd as the arrive at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday, May 13, 2013. The Minnesota Senate is scheduled open debate at noon on a bill that would make Minnesota the 12th state to legalize gay marriage and the first to pass such a measure out of its Legislature. The chamber’s majority Democratic leaders have said they expect it to pass and Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has promised to sign it. (AP Photo/The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Ben Garvin) MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE OUT (Ben Garvin)

The Minnesota Senate approved a bill to legalize gay marriage on Monday, positioning the state to become the 12th in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

It passed on a 37-30, with one Republican crossing over to vote yes and three members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party voting no. Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign it as soon as Tuesday and was tentatively planning a celebration on the Capitol steps for event. Gay marriages could begin Aug. 1.

“With just a few words we have the ability to bring families across Minnesota into the full sunshine of equality and freedom,” said bill sponsor Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis.

Gay marriage supporters, donning “I Support the Freedom to Marry” T-shirts and rainbow flags, far out numbered opponents at the state Capitol on Monday, arriving early to line the steps to greet lawmakers as they came in. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman also proclaimed May 13-17 “Freedom to Marry Week” in the city. Pride flags line the Wabasha Street Bridge, which has been temporarily named the “Freedom to Marry Bridge.”

Outside the Senate chamber, the Capitol erupted with cheers when the vote was finalized.

But opponents said as there’s a lot of celebrating, there’s a lot of grieving as well. Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, said legalizing same-sex marriage would divide the state like nothing since the Civil War, destroying businesses and confusing children.

“People ask me, ‘Senator Hall, don’t you want to be on the right side of history?’ The truth is, I’m more concerned about being on the right side of eternity,” Hall said.

The bill changes state law to specify that marriage is a civil contract between “two persons” rather than “a man and a woman.” It also offers protection for clergy and religious organizations that don’t want to solemnize gay marriages, which supporters argue is the strongest in the nation.

Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that those religious protections don’t go far enough. Private businesses, public officials and nonprofits that disagree wouldn’t be able to refuse service if they had religious objections to gay marriage. That means marriage counselors or wedding photographers would have to take on clients, regardless of their religious viewpoints, said Republican Sen. Paul Gazelka of Nisswa. He offered an amendment that would protect religious entities, not just those affiliated with churches, from the new law.

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Gay marriage: Minnesotans' personal accounts

Posted on May 13, 2013

On Monday, political signs addressing the same-sex marriage debate could be seen everywhere on the steps to the state Capitol.

The mass-produced variety expressed either “I Support the Freedom to Marry” or “Vote No — Don’t Erase Moms and Dads.”

Homemade signs were less common.

One read: “We love you, but please don’t impose your same-sex beliefs on us.”

Another suggested: “Three words that will save the economy: Gay bridal registry.”

For every sign, there were dozens of people debating whether Minnesota should become the 12th state in the country to legalize gay marriage.

Here’s what four people at the Capitol had to say on Monday, May 13, just hours before a historic Senate debate.

NICK SKY

Nick Sky doesn’t hate gay people.

But Sky, 28, of Plymouth was one of the few on the Capitol steps around 8:30 a.m. Monday holding a sign in opposition to the drive for same-sex marriage in Minnesota.

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Gay marriage: Minnesotans' personal accounts

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Obama's Evolution On Gay Marriage

Posted on May 13, 2013

In the beginning President Obama approached the issue of gay marriage cautiously.

He had long supported civil unions. He had worked to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and he’d come out against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples legally married in their states.

But even when he became the first sitting president in May of 2012 to say that he thought gays and lesbians should be able to marry, he moved carefully.

When pressed by ABC’s Robin Roberts he suggested that the issue should be left to the states. “I continue to believe,” he said, “that this is an issue that is going to be worked out at the local level.”

But his endorsement influenced a cascade of politicians to switch positions on the issue. Even though 30 states still had language defining marriage as between a man and a woman in their constitutions, by November three more states would authorize gay marriage.

By the time of his inaugural address the president was speaking in sweeping terms.

He said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law–for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

For gay rights activists the president’s words were deeply moving. “He made clear that support for the freedom to marry is not just important to gay people and our loved ones, but a central part of the American project, our journey toward liberty and justice for all,” says Evan Wolfson of the group Freedom to Marry.

By February, as expected, Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. filed a Supreme Court brief in US v. Windsor, the DOMA case. Verrilli reiterated the administration’s position since February 2011 that the law is unconstitutional. Verrilli wrote that DOMA “denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples.”

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Obama's Evolution On Gay Marriage

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Gay marriage clears Minnesota House; Senate set to vote Monday

Posted on May 10, 2013

Minnesota took a big step toward becoming the 12th state in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

The state House approved a bill allowing same-sex marriages by a 75-59 vote Thursday, May 9, after three hours of strikingly civil debate and personal, sometimes emotional speeches.

When the historic vote was announced, a roar from supporters bounced off the Capitol walls.

“It’s not time to uncork the champagne yet, but it’s chilling,” Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, later told supporters at a rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

The bill faces one more test: Monday in the state Senate where supporters say they have the votes to pass it.

If approved, Gov. Mark Dayton could put his expected signature on it as soon as Tuesday, and gay marriages could begin Aug. 1.

The emotional debate in the House was highlighted by the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Karen Clark, a Minneapolis DFLer who is gay. She recognized her partner, who had come to the Capitol for the vote, and made a plea to her fellow representatives to support the legislation.

“Same-sex couples pay our taxes. We vote. We serve in the military. We take care of our kids and our elders, and we run businesses in Minnesota,” Clark said before the vote.

“Same-sex couples should be treated fairly under the law, including the freedom to marry the person we love.”

Minnesota for Marriage, the main group opposing gay marriage, issued a statement afterward urging the Senate to block the bill.

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Gay marriage clears Minnesota House; Senate set to vote Monday

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GOP donors push state lawmakers to legalize gay marriage

Posted on April 28, 2013

Jim Mone / AP

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton speaks to an April 18 rally at the State Capitol, in St. Paul, Minn. in support of a bill to legalize gay marriage.

By Patrick Condon, The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. –A national group of prominent GOP donors that supports gay marriage is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make it legal.

American Unity PAC was formed last year to lend financial support to Republicans who bucked the party’s longstanding opposition to gay marriage. Its founders are launching a new lobbying organization, American Unity Fund, and already have spent more than $250,000 in Minnesota, where the Legislature could vote on the issue as early as next week.

The group has spent $500,000 on lobbying since last month, including efforts in Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia and Utah.

Billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican donor Paul Singer launched American Unity PAC. The lobbying effort is the next phase as the push for gay marriage spreads to more states, spokesman Jeff Cook-McCormac told The Associated Press.

“What you have is this network of influential Republicans who really want to see the party embrace the freedom to marry, and believe it’s not only the right thing for the country but also good politics,” Cook-McCormac said.

In Minnesota, the money has gone to state groups that are lobbying Republican lawmakers and for polling on gay marriage in a handful of suburban districts held by Republicans. So far, only one Minnesota Republican lawmaker has committed to voting to legalize gay marriage: Sen. Branden Petersen, of Andover.

“I think there will be some more. There are legislators out there that are struggling with this,” said Carl Kuhl, a former political aide to former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Kuhl’s public affairs firm is contracted by Minnesotans United, the lead lobby group for gay marriage in Minnesota and main recipient of American Unity’s Minnesota spending.

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GOP donors push state lawmakers to legalize gay marriage

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New conservative lobbying push for gay marriage

Posted on April 27, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) A national group of prominent GOP donors that supports gay marriage is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make it legal.

American Unity PAC was formed last year to lend financial support to Republicans who bucked the party’s longstanding opposition to gay marriage. Its founders are launching a new lobbying organization, American Unity Fund, and already have spent more than $250,000 in Minnesota, where the Legislature could vote on the issue as early as next week.

The group has spent $500,000 on lobbying since last month, including efforts in Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, West Virginia and Utah.

Billionaire hedge fund manager and Republican donor Paul Singer launched American Unity PAC. The lobbying effort is the next phase as the push for gay marriage spreads to more states, spokesman Jeff Cook-McCormac told The Associated Press.

“What you have is this network of influential Republicans who really want to see the party embrace the freedom to marry, and believe it’s not only the right thing for the country but also good politics,” Cook-McCormac said.

In Minnesota, the money has gone to state groups that are lobbying Republican lawmakers and for polling on gay marriage in a handful of suburban districts held by Republicans. So far, only one Minnesota Republican lawmaker has committed to voting to legalize gay marriage: Sen. Branden Petersen of Andover.

“I think there will be some more. There are legislators out there that are struggling with this,” said Carl Kuhl, a former political aide to former GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Kuhl’s public affairs firm is contracted by Minnesotans United, the lead lobby group for gay marriage in Minnesota and main recipient of American Unity’s Minnesota spending.

Gay marriage’s fate in Minnesota may rest with the House, where support is seen as shakier than in the Senate. A handful of votes from Republicans could put it over the top. Nearly two dozen House Republicans represent more socially moderate suburbs and might be candidates to vote yes.

House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, said he has encouraged advocates of the marriage bill to round up Republican votes, if nothing else than to send a message to Minnesota residents that it’s not a partisan proposition. But that will be politically risky; the main opposition group to same-sex marriage, Minnesota for Marriage, has said it will seek consequences for Republicans who stray on gay marriage.

Part of American Unity PAC’s original mission was to protect Republican gay marriage supporters with political spending on their behalf.

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New conservative lobbying push for gay marriage

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Rhode Island next to approve gay marriage

Posted on April 25, 2013

Steven Senne / AP

Rhode Island state Sen. Donna Nesselbush, D-Pawtucket (center) shakes hands with R.I. state Sen. Paul Fogarty, D-Glocester, moments after the state Senate passed a same-sex marriage bill Wednesday.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Rhode Islandtook a major step to becoming the 10th state to approve gay marriage Wednesday after the state Senate voted to approve a measure that would allow same-sex couples to wed.

Once believed to be a close call, the legislation passed comfortably by a 26-12 vote. It heads to the House, where it easily passed in January, next week for final approval. Gov.Lincoln Chafee has pledged to sign the bill, and the first same-sex marriages could take place Aug. 1.

Heavily Catholic Rhode Island is the last of New England’s six states to legalize gay marriage. The legislation has been introduced in the House every year since 1997.

“Rhode Island will no longer be an outlier in our region. We will have the welcome mat out,” Chafee said in a statement. “We will be open for business, and we will once again affirm our legacy as a place that is tolerant and appreciative of diversity.”

Iowa, Maryland, New York and Washington also legally recognize same-sex marriages, as does Washington, D.C.

Supporters of same sex-marriageeruptedinto cheers outside the Senate chambers after the result was clear. The vote was a result of a highly energized and coordinated campaigning from those equal rights groups, business leaders, community organizers and politicians.

New England is now complete. Through court rulings, legislative action, and wins at the ballot, loving and committed couples from Bangor to Burlington, Providence to Portland, and Cambridge to Concord will soon be able to join in the freedom to marry,”Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, said in a statement.

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Gay marriage momentum prompts US Republican angst

Posted on April 9, 2013

With Americans tilting toward support of gay marriage and two GOP senators now in favor, Republicans find themselves in a tightening political vice on the issue ahead of mid-term elections and the 2016 presidential race.

Last year was a watershed of sorts for the movement, with gay marriage laws passing in three states, Democratic President Barack Obama offering his public endorsement of marriage equality, and Wisconsin electing Tammy Baldwin as the first openly gay US senator.

But same-sex marriage is suddenly, unavoidably in the political spotlight once again, with the US Supreme Court mulling whether to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act which restricts federal benefits to marriages between a man and a woman.

And with the number of US senators backing gay marriage roaring past the halfway mark this past week — 53 of 100 members are now in favor — activists say Republicans risk getting left in the movement’s wake, which could find them struggling to attract new voters.

“The reality is, there is now irrefutable momentum in the country” in favor of marriage equality, Evan Wolfson, a founder of the gay marriage movement in the United States and president of the non-partisan group Freedom to Marry, told AFP.

With each passing year the support for gay marriage grows greater and broader, with a solid 58 percent now in favor, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC News survey.

Wolfson said “true opposition to gay marriage is dwindling and isolated to a few demographic groups” — namely Americans over 65, non-college-educated whites, and white evangelical Christians.

Young Republicans are siding with Democrats on the issue. Conservative freshman Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona even conceded last week it was “inevitable” that a future Republican presidential nominee would be in favor of marriage equality.

That puts Republicans in a pickle, especially after party leaders conducted a brutal self-criticism in the wake of their 2012 election debacle and announced they must do more to attract minorities like Hispanics.

Conservatives promote family and traditional values in their political platform. A Republican White House hopeful who openly espouses same-sex marriage could alienate the party’s base, while opposing it could trigger charges he or she is behind the times.

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Gay marriage momentum prompts US Republican angst

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Poll: 56 Percent Say Constitution Should Determine Gay Marriage

Posted on April 5, 2013

A majority of those polled believe same-sex marriage should be legal or illegal based on the U.S. Constitution, not the states.

Ahead of a pair of upcoming Supreme Court rulings that could impact the right for gay couples to marry, a new survey shows a majority of Americans support a judgment made based on the Constitution rather than allowing states to decide for themselves.

[BROWSE: Political Cartoons on Same-Sex Marriage]

According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 56 percent say same-sex marriage should be legal or illegal based on the U.S. Constitution, compared to 36 percent who disagree. The poll also said 50 percent of voters support allowing gay marriage versus 41 percent who oppose it, a vast difference from a similar poll taken in 2008, when 55 percent of people opposed gay marriage and only 36 percent supported it.

Activists on both sides of the issue said they are confident that Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage would support their position.

“It says to the court right now that America is not 50 separate kingdoms in which every family has to fight for itself, state by state, year by year,” says Evan Wolfson, president of the pro-gay marriage group Freedom to Marry.

“The core argument made on both days by the anti-gay lawyers really boiled down to delay for delay’s sake, ‘hit the pause button,’” he adds. “They didn’t have a real good reason, they just asked the court to take it’s time. The people are saying, ‘No, it’s your job, uphold the Constitution.’”

[PHOTOS: Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Arguments]

Frank Schubert, political director for the National Organization for Marriage, a group that opposes gay marriage, expressed equal confidence that a Supreme Court ruling would favor his group’s position.

“NOM believes that there is no right to same-sex marriage in the federal constitution,” he said in an email. “Should the Supreme Court create one, we would favor a national marriage amendment to correct such a ruling.”

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Poll: 56 Percent Say Constitution Should Determine Gay Marriage

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