size1one posted:

The hoops are pretty basic, at least in some places. I was legally married by a friend who became a minister online. Our ceremony was literally him making an exaggerated fist pump. We had zero issues getting our marriage certificate or a permanent residence visa for my wife using it. Our only problem was that a gay friend boycotted the wedding out of protest. (we weren't hurt in the least).

blackguy32 posted:

To add more to the discussion, this is about controlling what is seen as "normal". After reading Navigating Interracial Borders, a book about interracial relationships and how society views them, the author shows that Americans use marriage as a method to constitute what is normal. Its the reason why interracial marriages are frowned upon in the United States and why many religious conservatives are fighting so hard to keep gays from getting the right to marry.

BattleMaster posted:

Well it looks like my idea is bunk anyways since it looks like any random person can gain the rights to make marriages official, not just priests. My idea was to make marriage "nothing special" by removing the legal rights from the religious organizations so that all they can perform are unofficial ceremonies but clearly I was confused about how things work.

MrChupon posted:

Is the Maryland governor expected to sign this tonight?

Also, what drink would be very traditionally "Maryland"? My circle of friends has a tradition of drinking in celebration of each state as it passes marriage equality, but we're Westerners and never know anything about these East Coast states

The Battle Axe posted:

The article I read on The Huffington Post stated the governor is expected to sign it. I'd link to it if I had access to my laptop, sorry.

Patter Song posted:

Considering he helped shepherd it through, it's not a surprise that he's signing. IIRC, the bill doesn't take effect until January 1, 2013, though.

MrChupon posted:

Is the Maryland governor expected to sign this tonight?

Also, what drink would be very traditionally "Maryland"? My circle of friends has a tradition of drinking in celebration of each state as it passes marriage equality, but we're Westerners and never know anything about these East Coast states

MrChupon posted:

Is the Maryland governor expected to sign this tonight?

Also, what drink would be very traditionally "Maryland"? My circle of friends has a tradition of drinking in celebration of each state as it passes marriage equality, but we're Westerners and never know anything about these East Coast states

blackguy32 posted:

Its the reason why interracial marriages are frowned upon in the United States and why many religious conservatives are fighting so hard to keep gays from getting the right to marry.

quote:

In Gallup polls asking "do you approve or disapprove" of marriage between blacks and whites, the results have shifted dramatically over the past half century.

In 1958, some 94 percent of Americans disapproved. (The phrasing of the question then was slightly different, referring to "colored people.") By last year, 86 percent said they approved, while 11 percent said they disapproved.

ChadSexington posted:

You'll never find it outside of Maryland, but National Bohemian Beer, colloquially known as Natty Boh.

MrChupon posted:

Also, what drink would be very traditionally "Maryland"? My circle of friends has a tradition of drinking in celebration of each state as it passes marriage equality, but we're Westerners and never know anything about these East Coast states

quote:

The Freedom to Marry Coalition expects to file more than 1,700 signatures of registered Ohio voters; 1,000 valid signatures are required in the first step of placing a constitutional issue before Ohio voters this fall or possibly next year.

The proposal would change the Ohio Constitution — amended in 2004 to block same-sex marriage — to say that the state and political jurisdictions define marriage as “a union of two consenting adults, regardless of gender.” It also would stipulate that “no religious institution shall be required to perform or recognize a marriage.”

VROOM VROOM posted:

Now for the referendum...

Cicero posted:

Well, used to be frowned upon, anyway.

11 percent is a pretty small minority: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0216/Interracial-marriage-rate-doubles-in-30-years-how-US-attitudes-have-changed

VROOM VROOM posted:

Governor O'Malley just signed Maryland's Civil Marriage Protection Act

Now for the referendum...

blackguy32 posted:

But this is precisely what the book is about. People will say one thing, especially in public for polls, but when it came to putting it into practice, they were much more likely to disapprove. Interracial marriage was always A-Ok with people until they found out it was their daughter that was going to marry a black guy or vice versa. Although I don't know how similar the statistics are for LBGT stuff.

VROOM VROOM posted:

Governor O'Malley just signed Maryland's Civil Marriage Protection Act

Now for the referendum...

Polo-Rican posted:

I was going to update the map I made until I read that this wouldn't take effect until January of 2013? I guess it takes a state 11 months to "prepare" for gay marriage.

Polo-Rican posted:

I was going to update the map I made until I read that this wouldn't take effect until January of 2013? I guess it takes a state 11 months to "prepare" for gay marriage.

quote:

Republican representatives that have publicly endorsed the bill but have yet to attach their name to the legislation include Reps. Kevin Priola, Laura Bradford, and Larry Liston

Rep. B.J. Nikkel, a House Judiciary Committee member who voted against the civil union act last year isn’t seeking re-election.

silvergoose posted:

It really is just so that there isn't a lawsuit to stop it while a referendum happens, isn't it?

quote:

New Hampshire lawmakers are considering whether to take the first step toward making their state legislature the first one to repeal a gay marriage law, even as the governor threatens a veto.

But regardless of the final outcome of the push to repeal the 2-year-old gay marriage law, both sides are pledging to continue fighting into the fall elections.

The bill, scheduled for a House vote on Wednesday, calls for repealing gay marriage in March 2013 and replacing it with a civil unions law that had been in place in 2008 and 2009. Gay marriages occurring before the repeal took effect would still be valid, but future gay unions would be civil unions. The bill also would allow voters could weigh in through a nonbinding November ballot question.

If the House passes the repeal measure, it would go to the Senate; both houses are controlled by Republicans. Democratic Gov. John Lynch has promised to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

A two-thirds vote of the Legislature is required to override a veto. Opponents of a repeal have lobbied hard in the House in the hopes of achieving a narrower margin if the bill passes on Wednesday. The House would be the first chamber to take up an override vote if Lynch vetoes the bill, and if it failed to muster two-thirds, the measure would die.

Repeal opponents hope to solidify what they argue is public support for gay marriage, while supporters hope to reverse the law in a region of the country that gay rights groups have strength.

The National Organization for Marriage has pledged to spend $250,000 to help lawmakers running for re-election who support repealing the law. On the other side, the New Hampshire Republicans of Freedom and Equality PAC is raising money to back Republicans who vote to retain it.

If the law is repealed, a lawsuit is expected to be filed arguing New Hampshire's law discriminates against gays who no longer can get married.

Democrats enacted both the civil unions and gay marriage laws when they controlled the Legislature, and Lynch signed both. After Republicans took control of the House and Senate in 2010, repeal legislative was introduced, but held over until this year.

The repeal legislation, sponsored by state Rep. David Bates, would ensure the 1,906 existing same-sex marriages would remain valid if the gay marriage law is repealed. Bates said it would replace the current "illegitimate definition" of marriage with one defining it as between one man and one woman.

Same-sex marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington and the District of Columbia. New Jersey lawmakers recently passed a gay marriage bill, but the governor vetoed it. An override vote could come as late as January 2014.

Since 1998, 31 states have had ballot measures related to same-sex marriage, and opponents have prevailed in every state. Those states include Maine, where voters in 2009 rejected the state's gay-marriage law.

Last month, a federal appeals court declared California's same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional. The ruling could mean the bitterly contested, voter-approved law will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Huffington Post posted:

State Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston, said he had opposed gay marriage, but the time for a repeal was past because "the Legislature has given certain rights to members of our community and now we're being asked to take them away.

Irishdrunk posted:

Crazy victor! Any reasons why the it got shot down? The huffpo piece makes it sound like repealing rights already given and the amendment for the non-binding referendum were the main causes. It is interesting when you read the comments by some opponents to SSM make resigned statements to it passing like Maryland Senate President Mike Miller's "I am probably on the wrong side of history opposing this". I'm used to most anti-SSM making comments more along the lines "I will fight this to the grave, and then my quiver full of children will carry on in my name!"

Kem Rixen posted:

New Hampshire (and New England) Republicans are quite a bit different from ones in the rest of the country. I've always felt they're more ideologically driven than religiously so. So, they would see that taking away something they had already given was a terrible idea. As well, New Hampshire with it's libertarian streak is the perfect place for SSM.

Kem Rixen posted:

New Hampshire (and New England) Republicans are quite a bit different from ones in the rest of the country. I've always felt they're more ideologically driven than religiously so. So, they would see that taking away something they had already given was a terrible idea. As well, New Hampshire with it's libertarian streak is the perfect place for SSM.

Polo-Rican posted:

Corrupt Politician posted:

When Maryland is added to this map, here's how it breaks down by population:

• 15% of Americans have gay marriage.
  
  
• 37% of Americans have either gay marriage or civil unions.
  
  
• Adding the "limited/enumerated rights" states brings it to 41%.
  

That's pretty impressive to me considering most these laws were passed in just the last few years. I know that for gay Americans wanting to get married, equality can never come fast enough, but the sweeping pace of progress is pretty undeniable, and in my opinion, cause for optimism.

UltimoDragonQuest posted:

...Also there's going to be a second marriage referendum (1192) in Washington that we need to vote No on because it's easy to abuse the process and confuse voters.