Poll: New Yorkers split on same-sex marriage
(Albany) The latest poll shows New Yorkers are split on whether to legalize same-sex marriage even as the state Legislature moves closer to the landmark action.
The Quinnipiac University poll finds 46 percent favor legalizing same-sex marriage, and 46 percent were opposed. In a 2004 poll, Quinnipiac found 55 percent of …
“It’s not easy being gay,” says director of the Ohio Department of Insurance
“It’s not easy being gay,” said Mary Jo Hudson, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. She wasn’t referring to political opposition and other obstacles, but the plight of same-sex couples who are trying to get and keep health insurance.
“You’ve got to go through a lot of hoops,” said Ms. Hudson, who is openly gay and has lived with her partner for eight years.
Same-sex couples have been making headlines; Maine followed the lead of Iowa and Vermont this week in legalizing same-sex marriage, and several other state legislatures are now considering it. But Ms. Hudson says that fairer and more comprehensive health care coverage for partners — whether they are legally married or not — is not necessarily part of the package.
“For the vast majority of gay couples,” she said, “getting health insurance for a domestic partner is still a challenge.”
Currently about one-third of companies with more than 500 employees offer domestic partner benefits. That’s up from about 12 percent in 2000, according to a study from Mercer, an employee benefits consulting firm. But the percentage drops off sharply when smaller employers are counted, Ms. Hudson said.
And there is no provision for domestic partner benefits for federal employees, although there are some legislative efforts to change that. Some states and municipalities offer their employees domestic partner coverage, depending on the state laws.
Even if the relationship is formalized with the state in a marriage or union, that does not always obligate the employer to cover a same-sex spouse. For one thing, self-insured employers are not regulated by the states. See Patient Money For Gay Couples, Obstacles to Health Insurance
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-not-easy-…
CNN Poll: Generational gap on gay marriage
A new national poll suggests that a majority of Americans oppose legalizing same sex marriages — but there’s a vast generational divide on the issue.
Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday say that marriages between gay or lesbian couples should not be recognized as valid, with 44 percent suggests they should be considered legal.
Among those 18 to 34 years old, 58 percent said same-sex marriages should be legal. That number drops to 42 percent among respondents 35 to 49 years old, and to 41 percent for those 50 to 64 years of age. The poll indicates that only 24 percent of Americans 65 and older support recognizing same-sex marriages as valid.
While a majority of those polled oppose legalizing gay marriage, 6 out of 10 feel that states that do not recognize gay marriages allow civil unions. When it comes to supporting civil unions, the poll indicates a similar generational shift.
Three states, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa, currently allow same-sex marriages. A law passed by Vermont law makers that makes gay and lesbian marriages legal takes effect in the state later this year. Lawmakers in Maine and New Hampshire are close to passing a similar bill.
See CNN Poll: Generational gap on gay marriage
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/cnn-poll-gene…
17 gay couples bus to Iowa, marry, go back to Missouri
Iowa City, Ia. — Friday was a long, busy day for 17 gay and lesbian couples from Missouri.
They were awake by 4 a.m., hopped on a bus to Iowa City around 6 a.m., said “I do” in the afternoon and were unmarried by the time they returned home Friday evening.
The couples took advantage of the Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State. But, back home in Missouri, where a constitutional amendment defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, their Iowa certificates documenting a legal bond carries little weight. “We knew when we get back there our legal status will be the same as it was,” said Julie Brueggemann, 35, of St. Louis. “Hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, Missouri will be as open as Iowa is.”
The Unitarian Universalist Society in Iowa City hosted the 17 weddings. Each couple, one by one, stood before a minister, said vows, were pronounced wed and kissed.
“It’s a unique experience. How many other people can say they got married with 16 other couples?” said Kim Coleman, 32, of Florissant, Mo. She and Kimberly Banks-Brown, 38, have been together for five years. “But, it’s a logistical nightmare.”
See 17 gay couples bus to Iowa, marry, go back to Missouri
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/17-gay-couple…
Irish gays demand full marriage rights
(Dublin) Irish gays are accusing the government of dragging its feet in legalizing same-sex marriage and calling a bill that would grant civil partnerships “insufficient.”
Nearly 1000 people demonstrated in central Dublin blasting the government for refusing to give gay people equal rights.
In January the government announced legislation to allow same-sex …
Paterson Wants Public Debates on Gay Marriage
ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has been saying that a bill legalizing same-sex marriage should come to a vote in the State Senate even if the measure does not have enough support to pass.
But is this really a good thing for gay rights advocates, a constituency that Mr. Paterson has solidly supported for most of his political career?
Mr. Paterson’s logic, which he explained in separate radio interviews on Thursday morning, is that the public deserves to see where their elected officials stand on an issue as sensitive as same-sex marriage. The bill should be debated on the Senate floor, senators should be forced to take a public position on it, and they should vote it up or down, he said.
“I’m going to put the bill out and just let people fight it out,” Mr. Paterson said in an appearance on the Buffalo station WGR-AM (550). “I would like to see the Legislature just debate the bills that people think are controversial.”
In an earlier appearance on WHAM-AM (1180), Mr. Paterson did not seem concerned that the bill could lose. “If it loses, it loses,” he said. “And let the parties on both sides have their say.”
See Paterson Wants Public Debates on Gay Marriage
New York Times -
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/paterson-want…
Paterson Wants Public Debates on Gay Marriage
ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has been saying that a bill legalizing same-sex marriage should come to a vote in the State Senate even if the measure does not have enough support to pass.
But is this really a good thing for gay rights advocates, a constituency that Mr. Paterson has solidly supported for most of his political career?
Mr. Paterson’s logic, which he explained in separate radio interviews on Thursday morning, is that the public deserves to see where their elected officials stand on an issue as sensitive as same-sex marriage. The bill should be debated on the Senate floor, senators should be forced to take a public position on it, and they should vote it up or down, he said.
“I’m going to put the bill out and just let people fight it out,” Mr. Paterson said in an appearance on the Buffalo station WGR-AM (550). “I would like to see the Legislature just debate the bills that people think are controversial.”
In an earlier appearance on WHAM-AM (1180), Mr. Paterson did not seem concerned that the bill could lose. “If it loses, it loses,” he said. “And let the parties on both sides have their say.”
See Paterson Wants Public Debates on Gay Marriage
New York Times -
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/paterson-want…
Vermont gay marriage bill advances to Senate vote
(Montpelier, Vermont) The Vermont Senate will vote next week on legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, following acceptance of the bill in committee on Friday.
Hundreds of people filled the Statehouse as the Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 to advance the measure.
The measure would replace Vermont’s first-in-the-nation civil unions law with one that allows …
Maine inkeeps say gay marriage could save industry
(Augusta, Maine) With the nation in the grip of an economic crisis that is threatening tourism across the country, Maine’s inns, tourism agencies, and the wedding industry say legalizing same-sex marriage in the state could save them from disaster.
A bill that would repeal Maine’s so-called Defense of Marriage law which …
