APRIL
29, 2002
STATES
Same-sex marriage moves beyond Vermont
Two years to the
month after Vermont became the first state to pass a law allowing "civil
unions" among gay and lesbian couples, Connecticut's state legislature
is weighing a similar issue, and legislation is on the horizon in New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, New York, and California. Meanwhile, Massachusetts is considering
a state constitutional amendment that would ban recognition for gay families
including marriage, civil partnership, and parenting. Nearly three dozen other
states have passed legislation that in some form tries to stop in its tracks
a movement that is gaining national momentum and attention.
Religious and community
leaders have been vocal on both sides of this issue. In the Northeast, known
for its liberal politics, the debate is heating to a fever pitch. Values of
equality and inclusion are coming head-to-head with traditional definitions
of family as legislative activity picks up. What role should religious voices
have in a discussion of a "civil" institution? What are religious
leaders, legislators, and residents in your area saying about the way in which
the legal and social sides of marriage connect, or don't connect?
Why it matters
Marriage is both a social and a legal institution. The issue of same-sex marriage
puts both of these definitions to the test and asks which partnerships deserve
legal support and social status. Since the mid-1990s, polls have consistently
shown that about 65 percent of Americans disapprove of same-sex marriage and
about 35 percent approve.
Skip to hot
sources
Skip to sources in your region
Background
• Most
denominations do not sanction same-sex marriage, although it is a contentious
topic within several, including the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian
Church (USA). The Central Conference of American Rabbis, the representative
organization of North America's approximately 1,800 Reform rabbis, allows rabbis
to officiate at same-sex union ceremonies.
• The Bush
administration's proposed welfare reform legislation includes $300 million earmarked
to preserve and promote marriage among those eligible for welfare. Resolving
the "definition of marriage" issues that are moving through state
legislatures will likely prove important as Bush builds support for his welfare
bill, and will likely hinge on support from religious leaders, who are also
active in the welfare debate.
• The Vermont secretary of state's guide
to civil unions. As of January 2002, 4,371 couples - 3,762 of them from
out of state - had entered into Vermont civil unions.
• A list
from the American Civil Liberties Union of states that have passed anti-gay
marriage laws, and states that have rejected such bans.
• The Human Rights Campaign lists
the thirty-six states that have passed anti-gay marriage laws.
• The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund's Marriage
Project website, which includes court decisions from Hawaii, Vermont, Virginia,
and Alaska, and articles on the marriage debate in various states.
• A summary
of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by President Clinton
in 1996 and provided a definition of marriage as a relationship between a man
and a woman.
• A position
paper from Focus on the Family, arguing against gay marriage and civil unions.
• Information
on same-sex
partners of victims from the Sept. 11 attacks who were unable to get survivor
benefits.
Hot
sources
• Evan Wolfson is a national expert on gay rights, including gay people's
freedom to marry. He argued the Boy Scout case before the Supreme Court, as
well as the Hawaii marriage case. He is now with the Freedom to Marry Project,
which is a national coordinating group. Contact 212-851-8418.
• Rev. Richard Cizik is vice president for governmental affairs of the
National Association of Evangelicals. He opposes same-sex marriage on the grounds
that biblical marriage is between a man and a woman. Contact 202-789-1011, rcizik@aol.com.
• E.J. Graff, the author of What is Marriage For?: The Strange Social History
of Our Most Intimate Institution, is an expert on 2,500 years of marriage's
social history and an advocate for same-sex marriage. Contact 617-924-5172,
ejgraff@gis.net.
• Mike Gabbard is the founder and chairman of the Alliance
for Traditional Marriage and Values and strongly opposes same-sex marriage
on moral and religious grounds. Contact (808) 523-8451, info@atmv.org.
• Beth Jacklin is the coordinator of the Religious
Coalition for Freedom to Marry. Contact 617-848-9900, info@rcfm.org.
In
your region
• Gay marriage and civil union battles in each state, as well as a legislative
history of the issue listed state-by-state, can be found here.
• Each of the New England states' laws and regulations concerning same-sex
marriage is documented and explained here.
State
by state
CONNECTICUT
• An article
that reports support in Connecticut for a broader legislation that would expand
rights for gay couples but not grant marriage status.
• The Connecticut legislature adopted a measure
in May 2000 that allows gay couples to adopt children.
• Anne Stanback, president of Love Makes a Family, which supports gay marriage
but also backs broader legislation that would extend legal benefits such as
end-of-life medical decisions and health benefits to gay couples. Contact 860-674-8942,
ann@lmfct.org.
MASSACHUSETTS
• Massachusetts is home to the only lawsuit in the nation in which same-sex
couples are seeking the right to marry in court, Goodridge vs. Department of
Public Health. Information about the case, plaintiffs, and developments at Gay
& Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which is arguing the case. Contact
Jennifer Levi, a senior attorney, 617-426-1350.
• An article
on the Massachusetts legislative debate, including the text of the proposed
state constitutional amendment.
• Massachusetts
Citizens for Marriage supports the gay marriage ban. Contact (781) 647-1942,
info@marriagematters.org.
• Rev. Walter F. Cuenin, pastor of Our Lady Help of Christians Church in
Newton, Mass., supports gay marriage on the grounds that children of gay couples
cannot have equal rights if their parents are not married. Contact 617-527 7560.
• The Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the church
in that state, is lobbying for the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act. Contact
617-367-6060.
• Rep. John Rogers, the state legislator who sponsored the Defense
of Marriage Act, 617-722-2263.
• The Freedom to Marry
Coalition of Massachusetts, which also lists people - mainly clergy - who
have signed a statewide declaration of support for gay marriage.
NEW YORK
• Marriage
Equality New York advocates same-sex marriage, as opposed to civil unions.
Contact James R. Loney, Chair, 877-772-0089, jloney@marriageequalityny.org.
• Information about the state's proposed New
York City Domestic Partnership Bill, including contact information for state
legislators.
|
