American Marriage

DC

2009-05-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

DC might legalize gay marriage, but not if a Mormon congressman has anything to day about it.

Maine

2009-05-07T00:42:00.000-07:00

A gay marriage bill has been passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.

New Hampshire

2009-04-30T02:40:00.000-07:00

New Hampshire has a gay marriage bill in the works, the part that got the votes for passage is that it allows ministers to opt out for religious reasons.

But New Hampshire already allows civil unions and the Gov may veto the bill.

We'll have to wait and see.

Las Vegas marriage goes religious

2009-02-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Only preachers can operate a Las Vegas wedding chapel.

California Gay Marriage Amendment

2008-11-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

Proposition 8 was the measure on the California ballot to amend their state constitution. The amendment would ban gay marriage in California. It passed.

It had to pass, look at what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah. If California insisted on allowing and recognizing gay marriage it was a sure thing that God would conjure up an earthquake to drop California into the Pacific. Then what would happen to property values? Think of all the mortgage defaults that would cause.

So now if there’s any gays in California who want to get married they’ll just have to rely on payday loans to pay for the airline tickets to Connecticut.

Misrepresentation

2008-05-30T23:09:00.000-07:00

Dispatches from the Culture Wars gives some examples of how Santorum misquotes some statistics to try to argue a political position.

Legal implications of gay marriage in California

2008-05-20T10:31:00.000-07:00

Balkinization goes over the legal implications of the California Supreme Court marriage ruling.

California and presidential politics

2008-05-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

The California Supreme Court says that the state ban on gay marriage violates the California Constitution. They found on state grounds, without reference to the US Constitution so there is no higher court to overrule them. It appears to be a done deal.

Ann Althouse wonders whether it will become an issue in the upcoming presidential election.

Of course it will. It'll be an issue whether the candidates bring it up or not.

Update:
Above the Law links to the opinion.

Pennsylvania

2008-03-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

The Pennsylvania lege is considering a constittional amendment to restrict marriage (or any functional equivalent to marriage) to men/women pairs.

Massachusetts

2008-03-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

It appears that a lot of professionals are moving to Massachusetts because of the gay marriage law, in spite of the high cost of living in the Boston area.

Canadian Marriages

2008-03-01T12:07:00.001-08:00

Whether or not a Canadian Marriage is recognized in New York is going to court.

New Jersey

2008-02-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

New Jersey has defined a same-sex alternative to marriage as some sort of civil union and it seems to not be working out well.

Texas

2008-02-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

Texas passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage in 2005. Here's what Gov. Perry said about it at the time.

"Texans have made a decision about marriage and if there is some other state that has a more lenient view than Texas then maybe that's a better place for them to live," Perry said.

Arkansas

2008-02-26T21:47:00.001-08:00

There's a petition underway to attempt to ban unmarried couples from adopting or from acting as foster parents.

As you might guess, Arkansas does not allow gay marriage, although some towns, such as Eureka Springs has a domestic-partnership registry.

Alaska

2008-02-25T20:23:00.001-08:00

In 1998 Alaska passed a state constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriages.

Alabama

2008-02-24T20:40:00.000-08:00

In 2006 Alabama passed a constitutional amendment banning Alabama courts from recognizing gay marriages. Here's the text of the amendment (Amendment 774)

Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.
(a) This amendment shall be known and may be cited as the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.

(b) Marriage is inherently a unique relationship between a man and a woman. As a matter of public policy, this state has a special interest in encouraging, supporting, and protecting this unique relationship in order to promote, among other goals, the stability and welfare of society and its children. A marriage contracted between individuals of the same sex is invalid in this state.

(c) Marriage is a sacred covenant, solemnized between a man and a woman, which, when the legal capacity and consent of both parties is present, establishes their relationship as husband and wife, and which is recognized by the state as a civil contract.

(d) No marriage license shall be issued in the State of Alabama to parties of the same sex.

(e) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any marriage of parties of the same sex that occurred or was alleged to have occurred as a result of the law of any jurisdiction regardless of whether a marriage license was issued.

(f) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any common law marriage of parties of the same sex.

(g) A union replicating marriage of or between persons of the same sex in the State of Alabama or in any other jurisdiction shall be considered and treated in all respects as having no legal force or effect in this state and shall not be recognized by this state as a marriage or other union replicating marriage.

Vermont

2008-02-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

In 2000 Vermont legalized Civil Unions for gay couples. Now they're considering legislation to allow gay marriage and it seems that the majority of Vermont might go along with it.

...the poll asked voters to choose between three options for recognition of same-sex unions: full marriage, civil unions or no recognition. Forty percent said they supported marriage, 37 percent civil unions and 21 percent neither.
...
Last summer, the Legislature appointed an 11-member Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection to explore the idea of gay marriage and hear how Vermonters feel about it. The panel, which opponents say is stacked with gay marriage supporters and have boycotted, has held seven hearings and has three more scheduled. The hearings have generated plenty of input, but no name-calling or personal attacks.
...

Civil or religious

2008-02-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

Is marriage a civil union or religious union? Can it be both?

California

2008-02-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

California Supreme Court is hearing arguements on a gay marriage case on March 4th.

Florida

2008-02-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Florida is putting an amendment on the ballot to limit marriage rights.