Big Victories For Marriage Equality

The Issue
The state of Vermont made history on this week when it became the very first state to legalize gay marriage through the legislature rather than through a court decision. The Vermont House overturned Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto on gay marriage with a 100-49 vote; the veto was overturned in the Vermont Senate with a 23-05 vote. [USA Today]

Know Five Things

1.) New Victories:

• In Vermont: Nine years ago, Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to legalize civil unions between same-sex couples. This week, the state became the first to legalize gay marriage through the legislature rather than through the Court system. Gays and lesbians may now marry in the state starting September 1. [Washington Post]
• In DC: In Washington DC Tuesday, City Council vote decided to recognize all same-sex marriages performed in other states. The vote was unanimous, 12-0. However, the vote also sets up a battle with Congress, which by law must approve allDC’s laws. [ USA Today]
• In Iowa: Last Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court legalized gay marriage when it “upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman.”  [MSNBC]

2) The State Of Gay Marriage – Pros

• Marriage Is Legal: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont.
• Civil Unions Are Sanctioned: New Hampshire. New Jersey.
• Domestic Partnerships Are Recognized: California, Oregon, Washington state, Washington DC
• Asterisk: California allowed gay marriage for a brief interval last year, but the law was overturned by Prop 8 in November.

3) The State Of Gay Marriage – Cons

• Thirty States Ban Gay Marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.
• The Federal Government Against Gay Marriage: Same-sex marriages are not acknowledged by the federal government, however, thanks to the Defense of Marriage Act passed by Congress in 1996, which a) “reinforces a state’s right not to recognize another state’s same-sex marriage” and b) “denies federal recognition of marriages between couples of the same sex.”

4) The Financial Repercussions Of The Ban

• A marriage ban has a financial impact on couples. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds “a same-sex couple with average characteristics-including average age, average income, and average gap in income between spouses-will be denied more than $8,000 a year in Social Security survivor benefits upon the death of the higher-earning spouse after retirement.” [American Progress]
• A marriage ban has a financial impact on the community. A study done by The Williams Institute at UCLA for the state of California in 2008 found “Extending marriage to same-sex couples will boost California state and local government revenues by over $63.8 million.” Another study shows “extending marriage to same-sex couples in Vermont will result in $30.6 million in additional spending over three years.  That spending would add $3.3 million in revenue to the state budget and create approximately 700 new jobs.” [Williams Institute] [Williams Institute]

5) Polls On Same-Sex Marriage.

• Gay marriage has lost its power to polarize the American public. A study by the Pew Research Center in August 2008 found the issue of “gay marriage” came in last in importance on a list of issues voters cared about. [Pew]
• The poll also found six out of 10 Americans thought “some form of legal recognition is appropriate for same-sex couples.” Support has steadily been growing since 2004. The CBS News Poll found “27 percent of Americans support civil unions for same-sex couples, while 35 percent thinks there should be no legal recognition of same-sex relationships at all.” Compare this to 2004, when “just 22 percent supported gay marriage and 40 percent said there should be no legal recognition of same-sex relationships.” [CBS News]
• Why the change? Newsweek reports: “…One reason that tolerance for gay marriage and civil unions may be on the rise is that a growing number of Americans say they know someone who’s gay. While in 1994, a NEWSWEEK Poll found that only 53 percent of those questioned knew a gay or lesbian person, that figure today is 78 percent. Drilling down a bit more, 38 percent of adults work with someone gay, 33 percent have a gay family member and 66 percent have a gay friend or acquaintance….” [Newsweek]

“Segment In A Box” is written by Christy Harvey for the Center For American Progress Action Fund and is a daily feature for Mic Check Radio. To see past Segments or for other daily show topic ideas, sign up to have Mic Check Radio delivered directly to your In Box at www.miccheckradio.org.