Gay Marriage an Influential Issue 2004 | Fox News

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE PLAY AS 2004 ISSUE
• GAY MARRIAGE AN INFLUENTIAL ISSUE 2004
• GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE
• BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE BANS GAWI SUPPORT 10 STAT

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. 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.

GAY MARRIAGE PLAY AS 2004 ISSUE

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.

GAY MARRIAGE AN INFLUENTIAL ISSUE 2004

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. 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. Wh a cisn expected soon om Massachetts judg that may legalize same-sex marriage, the possibily of legal stat for gay marriage other stat and the recent Supreme Court cisn on sodomy, Print Bh appears ready to tap growg sentiment agast gay marriage as a polil issue.

GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE

”Meanwhile, the Vatin lnched a global mpaign agast gay marriag Thursday, tellg policians who are members of the church that support of same-sex unns was “gravely immoral” and urgg non-Catholics to jo the Wednday’s remarks, Bh said, “I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. ‘SOONER RATHER THAN LATER’ “If Congrs wants to do somethg to re-affirm the tradnal fn of marriage, would probably need to act sooner rather than later, bee if state supreme urts beg to le the way ’s anticipated Massachetts will le, then obvly a lot of homosexual people may take advantage of that law Massachetts to get married, ” Kyl said. In many of his speech, former Vermont ernor Howard Dean remds his dienc that he signed the natn’s first civil unns law, which giv gay upl the same rights as heterosexual elected print, Dean has vowed, he would “do everythg my power” to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

WASHINGTON – Gay marriage (search) is emergg as a big enough issue several stat to fluence rac both for Congrs and the iativ on banng same-sex marriag are expected to propel social nservativ to the polls 11 stat, cludg four printial battlegrounds: Arkansas, Oh, Michigan and topic also is a proment issue Oklahoma, South Dakota and North and South Carola, all stat wh close Senate pennt group has n an ad South Dakota, where Senate Democratic lear Tom Daschle (search) is a tight race, sayg Daschle "ref to protect marriage; he would let liberal activist judg refe .

BH BACKS BAN CONSTUTN ON GAY MARRIAGE

Democratic printial ndidate John Kerry exprsed the view of many his party after a narrow lg by the supreme urt his home state of Massachetts a year ago legalized same-sex marriage gave Republins a new issue to activate their said he supports the right of homosexuals to form civil unns. Stat should terme marriage laws, he nuanc of that stance are often lost 30-send TV ads and mpaign lerature suggtg that Democrats, by opposg a nstutnal amendment, are clearg a path for gay was the msage a Republin Natnal Commtee mailer sent to voters Arkansas and Wt Virgia, wh a picture of a man placg a rg on the hand of another man. "The Fay Rearch Council and other nservative groups are puttg out srerds to rm voters how their reprentativ and senators voted on proposed nstutnal amendments to ban gay marriage that were rejected both the Hoe and Senate this North Dakota, Mike Lifig, an uphill race agast Democratic Sen.

Jim DeMt, nng for the Senate South Carola, ed a stir by sayg that openly gay people and unwed, pregnant women should be barred om teachg public rights groups say Bh and others uld be makg a mistake by urtg his nservative base and ignorg morate swg voters.

GAY MARRIAGE BANS GAWI SUPPORT 10 STAT

Patrick Guerriero, head of the gay Log Cab Republins, a group that has whheld s endorsement of Bh over the marriage issue, told the Republin Natnal Commtee that "appealg to people's anti-gay anim as a mpaign strategy betrays the (clive) legacy of Print Ronald Reagan. The print said he cid to endorse an amendment bee of the Massachetts Supreme Judicial Court's recent cisn grantg marriage rights to same-sex upl, and San Francis Mayor Gav Newsom's cisn two weeks ago to beg givg marriage licens to gay and lbian upl. "Jt as Hawaii's high urt seemed poised to allow same-sex marriag, gay activists have seen their visns of legal weddgs on the beach of Mi disappear as voters approved Constutnal Amendment 2, givg the legislature power to 'rerve marriage to oppose-sex upl.

"Rabbis belongg to the biggt and most liberal branch of Judaism the Uned Stat have voted to regnise the partnerships of gay and lbian Central Conference of Amerin Rabbis, which is part of the Jewish Reform movement, has agreed to sanctn relig ceremoni for same-sex Print of the Conference, Rabbi Charl Kroloff, said that gay and lbian people served the regnn and rpect due to people created the image of God.

"Before the lg [Supreme Court lg that laws makg gay sex a crime were unnstutnal], supporters the Hoe [US Hoe of Reprentativ] of a nstutnal amendment that would more formally rtrict marriage to the unn of a man and a woman were havg trouble attractg sponsors. "A unty clerk issued marriage licens Friday to at least 15 gay upl, some of whom then exchanged vows outsi the urthoe, as more same-sex upl led up for a chance to tie the Mexi law f marriage as a ntract between ntractg parti but do not mentn genr.