California still has an anti-gay marriage law on the books. Voters uld remove next year - CBS Sacramento

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE
• THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE; URGED BY RIGHT, BH TAK ON GAY MARRIAG
• CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• FROM “GAY MARRIAGE CONTROVERSY” (2004) TO “ENDORSEMENT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE” (2012): FRAMG BISEXUALY THE MARRIAGE EQUALY DISURSE
• BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE

GAY MARRIAGE

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. ” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups.

Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.

THE 2004 CAMPAIGN: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE; URGED BY RIGHT, BH TAK ON GAY MARRIAG

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners. C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch. Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs.

That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S. Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v.

Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire. Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage marriage also beme a feral issue 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal.

CALIFORNIA STILL HAS AN ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE LAW ON THE BOOKS. VOTERS ULD REMOVE NEXT YEAR

Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000.

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTTHE 2004 CAMPAIGN: SAME-SEX MARRIAGEJuly 12, 2004Two weeks before the Democratic nventn and unr prsure om nservativ, Print Bh is latg his support for a nstutnal amendment banng gay marriage, movg the issue to the foreont of the mpaign and unrsrg what his ais said was a cril difference between the print and Senator John Bh champned the amendment his rad addrs this weekend as fellow Republins the Senate said they would seek to force a vote on on Wednday. Bh to champn the ban and some Republins ncerned that the issue uld alienate uncid morate terviews, nservative lears said they had plaed to the Whe Hoe that the mpaign was blockg opponents of gay marriage om prime-time speakg slots at the Republin Natnal Conventn.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Bh's nservative base clearly supports the amendment, but polls have shown that while a majory of uncid voters oppose gay marriage, there is ltle enthiasm among them for amendg the Constutn to ban analysts suggted that might acunt for the tentativens wh which the Whe Hoe has approached this issue this year, as seeks to turn out the evangelil voters that advisers have scribed as cril to Mr.

Bh's advisers, discsg the print's remarks, said the print was seekg to e across as opposg gay marriage but not as Goeas, a Republin pollster, said there was a danger advotg the amendment ''if you are perceived as overreachg, '' but he said that Mr. ''I always got the sense that he felt like he was beg put the posn of havg to do this bee people were aggrsively tryg to ph gay marriage, and this was a last rort rather than a first choice, '' Mr.

FROM “GAY MARRIAGE CONTROVERSY” (2004) TO “ENDORSEMENT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE” (2012): FRAMG BISEXUALY THE MARRIAGE EQUALY DISURSE

In Geia, gay rights groups said they planned to ask a judge to strike down the amendment as soon as the electn rults were Kentucky, many polil analysts say the proposed amendment brought out nservative ral voters who helped Mr. "From Day 1 of the Bh admistratn, they have done everythg possible to ter to their nservative, evangelil base, " said Matt Foreman, executive director of the Gay and Lbian Task Force. "A versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn P, Page 4 of the Natnal edn wh the headle: THE 2004 ELECTIONS: THE ELECTORATE -- GAY MARRIAGE; Same-Sex Marriage Issue Key to Some G.

A group of mps led by Ben Bradshaw, a gay Anglin, is lookg at ways to amend the legislatn to allow willg prits and parish to take part, which they argue uld also help boost dwdlg numbers the aisl. 11 stat approve nstutnal amendments to outlaw gay nuptials Alison Wood, right, lets her adopted dghter Hanna Wood-Ksell put a ballot to the box Tuday as Wood's partner Nancy Ksell watch, Rockport, Massachetts. (CNN) -- Six months after gay and lbian upl won the right to marry Massachetts, opponents of same-sex marriage stck back Tuday, wh voters 11 stat approvg nstutnal amendments difyg marriage as an exclively heterosexual Arkansas, Geia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oh, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments by double-dig clost race me Oregon, where gay rights groups ncentrated much of their effort and money and thought they had the bt chance of wng.

BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE

8 ln, enough to n TV and rad ads the Beaver State and outspend pro-amendment forc, acrdg to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Task, the end, the amendment passed by a marg of 57 percent to 43 the remag stat, the amendments passed wh 60 percent of the vote or more, wh the marg at a whoppg 86 percent ph to amend state nstutns to ban same-sex marriage gaed steam May, after gay men and lbians were granted the right to marry Massachetts, thanks to the state's Supreme Judicial Court, which led that laws rtrictg marriage to heterosexuals vlated the state the wake of that lg, San Francis Mayor Gav Newsom orred his cy clerk to beg issug marriage licens to same-sex upl, sayg the California nstutn also did not allow such distctns to be ma. Lol officials a number of other stat, cludg Oregon and New York, followed his ntroversial California Supreme Court later led that Newsom had overstepped his thory, although the legal fight over the larger nstutnal qutn has yet to be the backlash grew, opponents of gay and lbian marriage, cludg many relig nservativ, moved quickly to put amendments on state ballots to short-circu siar lgs om urts sympathetic to the argument that rtrictg marriage to oppose-sex upl was discrimatory.

Opponents of gay and lbian marriage are also phg a feral nstutnal amendment that would ban same-sex marriage natnwi, though failed to ga the need two-thirds majory to pass when me up for vot both the Hoe and feral amendment beme an issue the printial race, wh Print Bh supportg the measure and Sen.