Reasonably Logical

I seem to be witting a lot of these posts in the last couple of weeks.

Maine has just passed a same sex marriage bill today. Like Vermont, it passed through the legislative process. It was signed by the governor this morning. So now we have 5 states with same sex marriage. (Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine)

Washington DC recently passed a bill that would require the district to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states. Not quite as good as doing it at home, but given the unique legal position DC holds - Congress has veto rights on all of its laws - its still a major event.

According to the Associated Press, Vermont became the first state to legislatively enact same-sex marriage today. Impressively, the state legislature overrode a veto by the governor. Now that is what I call a solid base of support.

Vermont is the fourth state with same-sex marriage. (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Iowa are the other three.) From the look of it, the District of Columbia might be next. The DC Council today passed a bill which would recognize same sex marriages performed in other states. However, because of DC’s unique legal position, Congress could still scuttle this. Other states in the running include New York, New Jersey, & Hawaii.

On a related note, it looks like the Iowa Supreme Court case legalizing same-sex marriage from last week is safe from legislative challenge.

Just read my email and discovered that the Iowa Supreme court has upheld a lower court ruling which legalizes same-sex marriage. Even better, the decision has wording which is about as good as could be expected. Honestly, I’m a tad disappointed that Illinois wasn’t first*, but I’m still going to celebrate tonight!

Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman
Des Moines Register, April 3, 2009
A very fairly balanced article on the decision and reactions from either side.

Lambda Legal’s Response

NGLTF’s Response

* What can I say, I’m still an Illinoisan at heart. Four years there corrupted me.

Today, Love Makes a Family - the organization that has been instrumental in obtaining same-sex marriage in Connecticut - announced that it would be closing its doors. Their letter to members stated that the organization will be closing its doors on December 31, 2009.

Having accomplished our core mission, Love Makes a Family has begun preparations to cease operations on December 31, 2009, allowing our staff, board and community of supporters to focus their energies on the myriad of community issues still facing our state and country.

We are absolutely confident that marriage equality is here to stay in Connecticut. We would never close our doors if we felt otherwise.

I have to say that I will be sorry to see the organization close. I had hoped that they would transition into a broader LGBT family organization and work on behalf of LGBT families in our state. I do however respect their reasons for discontinuing the organization. Anne, Matt, Ganon and everyone else, thank you for your years of effort. Your efforts have been much appreciated. I look forward to working with you all in future endeavors.