I feel for speaker Gordon D. Fox, it must have been hard for him to not be able to get the necessary votes for gay marriage. Granting civil unions is seen as an inferior, but at least gettable compromise.
Of course, the concept of civil unions as a way to keep queer folks as second-class citizens is deeply problematic, but is this a case of “lesser of two evils”? Or should we have held out?
—Quell
Raquel Breternitz, who can’t wait for this to be old news.
Coming on the heels of some awesome news, in which the so-called “Defense of Marriage” act has been declared unconstitutional, I thought I’d make some maps to remind everyone of where we’re standing right now in terms of marriage equality rights. You can click each of the maps to see a large-scale version.
First off, Marriage Equality Laws in the States, as of April 2, 2010.
(Many thanks to the Human Rights Campaign for this information)
A few quick notes (also from the HRC):
States that issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples: CT (2008), D.C. (2010), IA (2009), MA (2004), NH (2010) and VT(2009).
States that recognize marriages by same-sex couples legally entered into in another jurisdiction: MD (2010) and NY (2008).
States with a statewide law providing the equivalent of state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples within the state: CA (domestic partnerships (DP), 1999, expanded in 2005), NV (DP, 2009), NJ (civil unions, 2007), OR (DP, 2008) and WA DP, 2007/2009).
States with statewide law providing some statewide spousal rights to same-sex couples within the state: CO (designated beneficiaries, 2009), HI (reciprocal beneficiaries, 1997), ME (2004), and WI (DP, 2009).
Sidenotes:
• California: Same-sex marriages that took place between June 16, 2008 and November 4, 2008 continue to be defined as marriages. On October 12, 2009, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that recognizes same sex marriages from out of state that occurred between the June to November 2008 time frame as marriages in California, and all other out of state same-sex marriages as domestic partnerships.
• Maine: Gov. John Baldacci signed marriage equality legislation May 6, 2009. However, the new law was repealed by a ballot measure in November 2009.
• Maryland does not have a registry but does provide certain benefits to statutorily defined domestic partners. Also, in Feb. 2010, the Maryland Attorney General issued an advisory opinion declaring that the state can recognize out of jurisdiction marriages.
• Rhode Island does not have a registry but does provide certain benefits to statutorily defined domestic partners. In Feb 2007, the Rhode Island Attorney General issued an advisory opinion declaring that the state can recognize out of jurisdiction marriages. However, in Dec. 2007the Rhode Island Supreme Court refused to grant a divorce to a same-sex couple legally married in Massachusetts.
Next, how many states would let me marry my sexy Brazilian cousins?
(Check out Mother Jones’ hilarious article+map, from which I took this information)
Side note: is it okay if I refer to Mother Jones, grammatically, as a person/single entity and not as a magazine? Thanks. That’s way more amusing (and it feels right).
Some “fun” facts!—
(Thanks 11 points)
It is legal in all 50 states to marry your second cousin.
Some caveats given by states in order to allow marrying your first-cousin, mostly based on the idea that it’s okay to be a gross incestuous person, as long as there’s no chance you’ll birth some ungodly monstrosity:
• One (or both) of you are adopted and you give proof (LA, MS, OR, WV)
• You’ve done it elsewhere (IN, KS, LA, NE, OK, WA, WV, and WY honor it; AK and MI turn a blind eye)
• If you’re old and/or infertile (IN: over 65 and infertile, WI over 55 for the female partner or at least one member of the couple is infertile, IL over 50 or one is infertile; AZ over 65 or one is infertile; UT over 65, or over 55 if one is infertile
)
• It’s permitted by “aboriginal culture” (MN, applies mostly to the Dakota Sioux, Ojibwe and Chippewa tribes)
•You submit to genetic counseling (ME)
•Your parents weren’t cousins too (NC)
Maybe, however, marrying your cousin isn’t enough for you. Maybe I want my guinea pig (I have a really cute guinea pig).
States in which I could totally do my guinea pig (or even bigger animals, like cows or Mel Gibson) and the state-by-state rundown, after the jump!
In Britain, they say "all talk and no trousers" to describe someone who talks about doing big, important things, but doesn't take any action. We Americans respond with our own idiom: We're all that and a bag of chips.
We're awesome. This is our blog.
Bi-Os:
Raquel | personal blog | twitter
Valerie | personal blog
