Today Massachusetts, Tomorrow... ?
Today the Commonwealth of Massachusetts joins the Netherlands, Belgium, and some Canadian provinces in redefining marriage by issuing licenses to same-sex couples. How did Massachusetts come to this...
View ArticleFriends With Benefits?
This November, eight more states will vote on marriage amendments. The new amendments (like most of those already passed in 20 states) typically say two things: (1) marriage is the union of one man and...
View ArticleDefining Decision
Like a number of similar decisions, last week’s opinion of an Iowa trial court holding the state’s marriage law unconstitutional is a little sparse on legal analysis but long on result. The court’s...
View ArticleGolden Moment
In March 2000, a California voter initiative defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The California Supreme Court is mulling a lawsuit challenging that definition, but a feisty new...
View ArticleSupreme Overreach
Thursday’s 4-3 decision in the California supreme court that the state’s constitution mandates a radical redefinition of marriage had its genesis in executive lawlessness and ended with judicial...
View ArticleFull Speed Ahead
On Monday, California’s secretary of state officially certified for the November ballot an initiative measure to amend the state’s constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The...
View ArticleMarriage Moves Voters
Beyond their practical effects, the very fact that 30 states have amended their constitutions to protect the definition of marriage in just over a decade is remarkable.This week, Arizona, California,...
View ArticleCalifornia Betrayal
On Friday, California attorney general Jerry Brown decided not to honor an earlier promise to defend the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the state marriage amendment approved by voters on November...
View ArticleNever Mind the Law
A dress rehearsal for a national redefinition of marriage quietly took place last week in a ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A single judge, acting in his capacity as chair of the...
View ArticleMarriage in State Legislatures
The campaign to secure a legislative redefinition of marriage seems to be most active in New Hampshire at this point. There, the House approved a same-sex marriage bill (HB 436) March 26 (the vote was...
View ArticleHow Marriage and Religious Liberty Interact
A number of scholars, with different opinions about same-sex marriage, believe redefining marriage will create conflicts with religious liberty. Those who are pushing redefinition, however, still argue...
View ArticleMarriage in New Hampshire and Maine
The New Hampshire Senate has just voted 13-11 in favor of a bill that would redefine marriage in the state. This was an amended version of a same-sex marriage bill already approved by the House, so it...
View ArticleNew England Marriage Update
On Thursday, the Maine Senate approved a bill to redefine marriage (LD1020) by a 21-14 vote. The bill now could be voted on by the House at any time. If the bill is approved and signed by the governor...
View ArticleScottish Report on Gay and Lesbian Parenting
The Scottish government has just published a report called “The Experiences of Children with Lesbian and Gay Parents.” The Iowa Supreme Court and other advocates of same-sex marriage have touted...
View ArticleMaine Moving Closer to Redefining Marriage
Kathryn has already noted the D.C. Council vote to require the District to recognize same-sex marriages contracted in other jurisdictions.Also today the Maine House approved, 89-58, a bill to redefine...
View ArticleStill Fighting for Marriage in Maine
Now that the governor has signed a bill redefining marriage in Maine, opponents of the bill can soon begin gathering signatures calling for an election to repeal the new marriage law (a “citizen’s...
View ArticleGay Marriage Momentum in Context
The recent legislative redefinitions of marriage in Vermont, Maine, and possibly New Hampshire (where the governor’s signature is still not on the bill) are certainly sobering for those who continue to...
View ArticleNew York Assembly's Marriage Vote
Late yesterday, the New York Assembly voted 89-52 in favor of a same-sex marriage bill. The Assembly has voted to redefine marriage before (in 2007) and everyone seems to recognize that the Senate is...
View ArticleNew Hampshire Gay Marriage Reprieve
There’s been a fascinating development in the New Hampshire same-sex marriage effort. Gov. John Lynch has just announced that he will veto the bill redefining marriage unless legislators amend it to...
View ArticleNew York Times on Opposition to Same-Sex Marriage
The New York Times has run an article expressing surprise that the opposition to redefining marriage in New York has not been more vocal to this point. It is not a secret that the groups pressuring for...
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