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Minnesota poised to become 12th state to embrace gay marriage

Posted on May 13, 2013

By David Bailey, Reuters

The Minnesota Senate is expected to give final approval on Monday to a bill that would make the state the 12th in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry and only the second in the Midwest.

Leaders in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 39-28 majority, have said they believe they have the support to approve a bill legalizing gay marriage. They set a vote for Monday on the measure that members of the state House approved last week.

Democratic Governor Mark Dayton has said he would sign the bill, which would make Minnesota the third state this month to legalize gay marriage after Rhode Island and Delaware. The law would take effect August 1.

Minnesota would join Iowa as the only other Midwestern state to permit gay marriage and the first to do so through legislation. Iowa has permitted same-sex marriage since 2009 under a state Supreme Court order.

The Minnesota House had been expected to be the bigger hurdle, but representatives voted 75-59 on Thursday to approve a bill with some Republican support.

The measure has at least one Republican sponsor in the Senate.

Senator Scott Dibble, the bill’s architect, has said the stronger-than-expected vote from representatives was very encouraging and urged same-sex marriage supporters to continue active lobbying for the bill right up to Monday’s vote.

Hundreds of supporters and opponents of the proposal to legalize same-sex marriage demonstrated at the Capitol on Thursday. A similar atmosphere was expected on Monday.

The vote on Thursday was a sharp reversal for Minnesota’s legislature. Two years ago, Republicans controlled both chambers and bypassed the governor to put forward a ballot measure that would have made the state’s current ban on gay marriage part of the state constitution.

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State senator comes out during gay marriage debate

Posted on May 8, 2013

State Senator Karen Peterson (State of Delaware)

Delaware state Senator Karen Peterson came out as lesbian during the floor speeches of a debate about legalizing gay marriage, multiple outlets have reported.

Sen. Peterson said, “If my happiness somehow demeans or diminishes your marriage, you need to work on your marriage,” according to Think Progress.

Via Think Progress:

No one chose to be gay. We are what God made us. We dont need to be fixed. We arent broken. [...] My partner Vicki and I have been together for 24 years. Last year, we entered into a civil union. [...] If my happiness somehow demeans or diminishes your marriage, you need to work on your marriage.

The Delaware Senate voted to approve marriage equality legislation, making Delaware the 11th state that recognizes the marriages of same-sex couples. Governor Jack Markell has said he will sign the bill into law.

Victory Fund broke the news about Sen. Peterson via Twitter:

Reactions were positive as others learned of the news via the social network.

A similar incident occurred earlier this year, when, during a debate on gay marriage, Nevada state Senator Kelvin Atkinson announced that he was gay.

Last week, Rhode Island became the 10th state to legalize gay marriage.

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Delaware becomes 11th U.S. state to allow gay marriage

Posted on May 8, 2013

By Edith Honan

DOVER, Delaware (Reuters) – Delaware legalized gay marriage on Tuesday, making it the 11th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The state Senate approved the bill by a vote of 12-9 on Tuesday and Governor Jack Markell signed it into law half an hour later.

“I do not intend to make any of you wait one moment longer,” said Markell, a Democrat who has been an outspoken advocate for same-sex marriage rights. The measure, which the state’s lower house approved several weeks ago, will take effect on July 1.

Delaware is the second state in less than a week to extend marriage rights to gay couples. On Friday, Rhode Island lawmakers gave final approval to a similar measure, which Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, then signed into law. Gay couples in Rhode Island can marry from August 1.

During a three-hour debate before the vote, opponents of the bill questioned why civil unions, which were legalized for same-sex couples in the state two years ago, were not enough. They expressed worry that business owners who hold a moral objection to homosexuality will be compelled to, for example, cater same-sex weddings.

But state Senator Karen Peterson, who is gay, said the bill was about fairness and equality.

“If my pursuit of happiness somehow demeans or diminishes your marriage, then you need to work on your marriage,” Peterson said.

Kira Bell, a probation and parole officer who attended the vote with her wife, Karla Bell, said: “How do you answer someone when they ask what does it feel like to be equal?”

“It’s like we can finally exhale,” she said. The couple were married in Connecticut.

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Kirk becomes second Republican senator to back gay marriage

Posted on April 2, 2013

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senator Mark Kirk announced on Tuesday that he supports gay marriage, suggesting a brush with death had helped shift his attitude as he became the second Republican to join dozens of Democratic senators who back homosexuals’ right to wed.

“When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others,” said Kirk, an Illinois senator who returned to the Senate in January almost a year after suffering a major stroke.

“Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage,” he said in a statement. “Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back – government has no place in the middle.”

Public opinion polls show a majority of Americans believe that homosexuals should have the right to wed, and a growing number of politicians are declaring themselves in favor of same-sex marriage rights.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in two major cases on marriage equality last week.

But Republicans, who are generally more socially conservative than Democrats, remain largely opposed.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman became one of the most prominent members of the party to back gay marriage rights when he announced his support in mid-March, two years after his son told him he was gay.

Kirk, who holds the Senate seat once occupied by President Barack Obama, represents a Democratic-leaning state and is considered a fairly moderate Republican. Illinois’ other senator, Democrat Richard Durbin, also supports gay marriage, as do all but seven of the 53 Democrats in the Senate.

Eight Democratic senators have come out in support of gay marriage within the last week.

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Casey Now Backs Gay Marriage

Posted on April 2, 2013

When the history books are written, Sen. Bob Casey’s name will be listed among the Democrats who almost switched en masse to become supporters of gay marriage in 2013.

If Casey had delayed any longer, he may have risked being remembered as the odd man out.

But the Pennsylvania Democrat’s announcement Monday that he supports same-sex marriage adds him to the ranks of former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and congressional Democrats who in the last several weeks have made public their support for gay marriage.

In an interview, Casey said he had decided over time that the Defense of Marriage Act — the federal law that defines marriage as one man and one woman — should be repealed, and determined that such a belief could not be separate from the overall question of gay marriage.

“I ultimately decided that to make a decision about DOMA was making a decision about marriage equality itself,” Casey said. Casey gave interviews to The Morning Call and the Philadelphia Gay News before making his support public.

Casey said he will sign on as a co-sponsor to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act when the Senate reintroduces such legislation.

“It wasn’t until recently that I thought some point this year it will be reintroduced, so that was a question I was asking myself: Can you separate the vote on that [from] the ultimate question on marriage equality?” Casey said. “There’s no way to do that.”

Casey’s public switch comes less than a week after the Supreme Court heard arguments in two landmark gay marriage cases.

In recent days half a dozen of Casey’s Democratic colleagues reversed their position and became same-sex marriage supporters, but Casey did not. And in the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court cases, the senator stayed quiet on the issue.

Casey’s reversal now leaves just eight of 53 Senate Democrats who say they do not support gay marriage.

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Republican Sen. Mark Kirk backs gay marriage : How big a deal?

Posted on April 2, 2013

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk is now the second Republican in the US Senate to support gay marriage. Senator Kirk made the announcement via his Senate blog Tuesday, saying life comes down to who you love and who loves you back government has no place in the middle.

Kirk joins Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, who took a similar position last month. There are now 50 US senators who support gay marriage, a number that includes 46 Democrats and two independents.

Like Senator Portman, whose gay son prompted his change in stance on the issue, Kirk framed his reversal on his personal life. He suggested his return to the Senate after a year absence following a major stroke played a role in his decision.

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When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others. Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most, he wrote.

While Kirk’s switch carries some symbolic weight, far more significant would be a Republican senator in a red state openly supporting gay marriage. Last week, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska told a local media outlet that her views on gay marriage are evolving but would not commit further. Only two Republicans in the US House, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and Richard Hanna of New York, are on record with their support.

Kirk is on record as a moderate on gay rights, which reflects the fact that he represents a solidly blue state and won the Senate seat formerly held by President Obama.

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Kirk lives in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb that swings moderate to liberal on social issues. He has supported civil unions, opposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, and, in November 2010, was one of eight Republican senators who voted to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the policy that barred gays from serving in the military.

During his 2010 Senate race, he opposed gay marriage and backed the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as between a man and a woman though he added: I also don’t think we should have a federal takeover of all marriage law in the United States. I think the federal government is already trying to take over too much, he said in an October debate that year.

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Republican Sen. Mark Kirk backs gay marriage : How big a deal?

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Senate Republican backs gay marriage

Posted on April 2, 2013

2 April 2013 Last updated at 16:09 ET

Senator Mark Kirk has become the latest US lawmaker and second Republican senator to back gay marriage.

In a statement, the Illinois senator said civil marriage should be available to same-sex couples.

Sen Kirk, first elected in 2010, returned to Congress in January after almost a year away following a stroke.

A bevy of US lawmakers have backed gay marriage in recent weeks, reflecting a rapid rise in public support for same-sex marriage.

Last week, the US Supreme Court heard two major cases related to same-sex marriage, one challenging a California ban and the other challenging a federal law restricting tax and other marriage benefits to opposite-sex couples only. The court is expected to issue rulings in June.

Eight Democratic senators have spoken out in support of gay marriage within the last week. In mid-March Ohio Senator Rob Portman became the first Republican senator to support same-sex nuptials, two years after his son told him he was gay.

Sen Kirk said that as he climbed the steps of the US Capitol building to return to work in January he promised himself he would “return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others”.

“Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage,” he said. “Our time on this Earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back – government has no place in the middle.”

The senator, who holds the former seat of President Barack Obama, represents a Democratic-leaning state and is considered a moderate Republican.

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Politics of gay marriage : How close is GOP to changing its stand?

Posted on March 27, 2013

As the US Supreme Court considers two historic gay marriage cases this week, the politics of the issue are also in the spotlight. Four US senators, none of them liberals Rob Portman, Claire McCaskill, Mark Warner, and Mark Begich have all recently announced support for a right to same-sex marriage, the last three on Monday.

Theres a pattern to these announcements. In the case of Senator Portman, a Republican, the change of heart came because of his gay son. And hes from Ohio, a battleground state that mirrors the politics of the nation as a whole, which have shown a steady, marked shift toward approval of same-sex marriage. Nationally, the number is now well above 50 percent.

Senator McCaskill of Missouri is a Democrat in a Republican-leaning state who was just reelected and wont be up again until 2018. Senator Warner (D) of Virginia like Ohio, a big swing state is up for reelection in 2014, and probably safe.

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Senator Begich of Alaska might be the closest call of the four: Hes a Democrat up for reelection next year in a Republican state. And support for gay marriage in Alaska is at just 43 percent, according to Public Policy Polling. But Begich seems to be counting on a libertarian streak in his state that goes beyond gay marriage.

Alaskans are fed up with government intrusion into our private lives, our daily business, and in the way we manage our resources and economy, he said in his announcement Monday.

So what is the next shoe to drop? Republicans who favor the right to same-sex marriage are increasingly common. Vice President Dick Cheney announced his support way back in 2004, citing his gay daughter. Last month, dozens of prominent Republicans former governors and members of Congress, former advisers to Republican administrations, former advisers to recent presidential campaigns signed on to an amicus brief arguing that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.

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The effort was organized by former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, who came out as gay after he left public life.

But the list of signatories was heavy on former. Far more unusual, among Republicans, is for a current elected official to publicly change position. Thats what made Portmans announcement especially noteworthy. Still, as with Vice President Cheney, there was a personal impetus behind the switch: his child.

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Politics of gay marriage : How close is GOP to changing its stand?

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Gay marriage : Why Sen. Chambliss’ clunky quote indicates softening GOP stance

Posted on March 22, 2013

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is getting some blowback online for remarks he made to Politico about gay marriage. Asked if he might ever reconsider his opposition to marriage equality, Senator Chambliss is quoted as saying: “I’m not gay, so I’m not going to marry one.”

Predictably, this has sparked a slew of mocking headlines and comments.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Chambliss’s hometown paper, went with “Gay Marriage? Saxby Chambliss says he’s taken.” Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall posted simply: “Tough Hurdle: So Sen. Saxby Chambliss has to become gay apparently before he’ll support marriage equality.” New York Magazine’s Jon Chait joked: “Given that personal experience seems to be how Republican senators change their minds on the issue, I would urge gay-rights groups to introduce some handsome, charming guys to Senator Chambliss and see if sparks fly.”

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What’s interesting to us about Chambliss’s “quip,” however inartful, is that it doesn’t really sound like strident opposition. Unlike previous election cycles, when most Republicans were actively promoting legislative measures to prevent gay marriage, these days they seem to be taking pains to emphasize that their opposition to it is strictly personal.

Policy-wise, they’re no longer pushing for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, but increasingly arguing that it is an issue that should be left up to the states. And more and more GOP officials like Chambliss are describing their views with lines that sound almost like “this old dog can’t learn new tricks.” The implication: they’re not really trying to fight the tide of history. They’re just asking to be allowed to maintain their own views.

We heard the same kind of tone in House Speaker John Boehner’s comments on the subject last weekend on ABC’s “This Week.” Asked about Ohio Sen. Rob Portman’s recent announcement that he now supports gay marriage, Mr. Boehner said he could not envision himself having a similar change of heart. “Listen, I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman,” Boehner said. “It’s what I grew up with. It’s what I believe. It’s what my church teaches me. And I can’t imagine that position would ever change.” Asked how he could justify denying Portman’s son, who is gay, the right to marry, Boehner added: “Listen I think that Rob can make up his his own mind, take his own position.”

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This rhetorical shift seems in line with the conclusion in the Republican National Committee’s recent “autopsy report” that Republicans must offer a more inclusive posture on issues like gay marriage, which, it said, is causing many young people to view the GOP as “totally intolerant of alternative views.” According to the report: “there is a generational difference within the conservative movement about issues involving the treatment and the rights of gays and for many younger voters, these issues are a gateway into whether the Party is a place they want to be. If our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”

This week a new Washington Post/ABC poll found a record 58 percent of Americans now believe gay marriage should be legal, including 52 percent of Republicans between the ages of 18 and 29.

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Analyst: Portman’s Gay Marriage Shift May Be ‘Tip Of The Spear’ In GOP

Posted on March 17, 2013

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 29, 2012.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 29, 2012.

It is a theme that has become increasingly familiar during the rapid evolution of American political attitudes toward same-sex marriage: People who learn that a friend or loved one is gay are far more likely to support same-sex marriage, even if they were once adamantly opposed.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who became the first Republican in the U.S. Senate to openly endorse same-sex marriage, is simply the latest.

Portman, in an op-ed published Friday in Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch, said his turnabout was prompted after his son, Will, revealed two years ago that he is gay.

The switch, coming less than two weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court hears a pair of challenges to same-sex marriage bans including one that Portman voted for is being characterized by gay rights activists and others as historic.

This feels like the point, they say, at which Republican-led opposition to gay marriage may have begun its most public, perceptible erosion.

“Portman is politically conservative, but he’s never come across as an ideologue,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst and former Ohioan who characterized the senator, a former Bush administration budget official who was on Mitt Romney’s short list for vice president, as “an insider politician.”

“This is probably just the tip of the spear; we’re going to see more of this,” said Kondik, at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “He’s the first Republican senator who supports gay marriage, and he certainly won’t be the last.”

This is probably just the tip of the spear; we’re going to see more of this.

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Analyst: Portman’s Gay Marriage Shift May Be ‘Tip Of The Spear’ In GOP

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