On same-sex marriage/civil unions, the air is leaking out of the tire
ast month Texas Lyceum, a non-partisan, business-oriented group, released one of its periodic polls on current issues, and the results for the most part were what one would expect in a conservative state. By margins of about 2-to-1, Texas opposed any further bailouts for automakers or banks. An even bigger margin – including a majority of whites, blacks and Hispanics – supported the concept of a voter ID requirement.
But on one issue, the poll did raise some eyebrows. According to the survey, a majority of Texans would permit some form of same-sex union to be recognized: 25 percent favor same-sex marriage and 32 percent would allow civil unions, while 36 percent oppose either arrangement. Although Democrats and independents were more liberal on this issue than Republicans, a thin Republican majority – 14 percent for same-sex marriage, 37 percent for civil unions – now favor one arrangement or the other.
That indicates that Texans are more conservative than the rest of the country on this issue, but not dramatically so. A CBS News/New York Times poll conducted at about the same time showed that 33 percent of Americans favor same-sex marriage, 30 percent would permit civil unions and 32 percent oppose any legal recognition of same-sex or lesbian couples.
This national poll also showed opinions on the issue are shifting back and forth: In a CBS News/New York Times poll conducted in April, support for same-sex marriage was at 42 percent. That decrease in support could be a result of the rising visibility of the issue: In June, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signed a bill which made his state the sixth in the country to allow same-sex marriage.
The fact that attitudes in Texas aren’t greatly out of line with the rest of the country doesn’t portend any big changes in the law in this region of the country, any time soon. If same-sex marriage/civil unions had been polled last month in Tennessee or Alabama, opposition to either one would probably have been significantly higher. But it may be an indication that as a political issue which can easily get traction, the air is slowly leaking out of the tire.
Most of the states, and all the Southern states, have passed some form of Defense of Marriage Act, and all the Southern states except North Carolina have passed constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. This makes it less, not more likely that conservative candidates in these states will get much mileage out of the issue than they have in recent years. It’s much more likely that opposition to same-sex unions will galvanize votes in states like New Jersey or Pennsylvania, where changes in current laws are a greater possibility.
None of this is to say conservative candidates won’t be able to raise money and garner endorsements on the issue well into the next decade. But it’s noteworthy that the strongest opposition to gay marriage in nearly every poll comes from African-Americans, who aren’t likely to swing behind candidates who are conservative on other issues.
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Polls show Pa. resisting tide favoring gay marriage
ONE OF the big political stories of 2009 has been the surge in American public approval for gay marriage and the growing number of states - including the heartland bastion of Iowa - that have legalized the practice, but here in Pennsylvania the pages of this political thriller are still blank.
Even as the neighboring states of New York and New Jersey seem to be racing to legalize gay marriage, perhaps as early as this year, advocates for gay rights in Pennsylvania find themselves still locked in a defensive posture. Indeed, Republican state Sen. John Eichelberger, of Blair County, intends today to introduce an amendment to the state constitution aimed at blocking any courts from approving same-sex marriage in the Keystone State.
“Clearly, Pennsylvania is among Alabama and Mississippi in terms of gay rights,” said Malcolm Lazin, the executive director of the Equality Forum, the gay-rights-advocacy group based in Philadelphia.
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Polls show Pa. resisting tide favoring gay marriage
Philadelphia Inquirer -* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Marriage equality “a matter of time,” ACLU chief says
Marriage equality “a matter of time,” ACLU chief says
There is momentum nationally for marriage equality, according to Anthony Romero, the out executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “It’s just a matter of time,” he said before an appearance in Philadelphia. However, Pennsylvania is considered unlikely to enact marriage equality without a court order, according to advocates in the Keystone State. The Philadelphia Inquirer * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Pennsylvania extends medical benefits to partners of state employees
Pennsylvania state employees in same-sex relationships will now be able to obtain the same medical benefits for their partners as heterosexual married employees.
The Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund, a non-governmental agency that oversees the state benefits programs, will offer medical, prescription drug, dental, vision and hearing-aid benefits to the same- and opposite-sex domestic partners of all PEBTF-eligible employees, which amounts to about 81,000 individuals.
The approximately 60,000 retired state employees eligible for the Retired Employees Health Program will also be able to extend their benefits to domestic partners.
The policy change additionally allows children of domestic partners to be included on benefits plans. See Pennsylvania extends medical benefits to partners of state employees
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Pa. student appeals suspension for porn role Philadelphia Inquirer
A student who appeared in pornographic videos using a pseudonym is appealing his suspension from a Christian college in western Pennsylvania saying the off-campus job wasn’t the business of school officials.
John Gechter, 22, of Philadelphia said he needed the income from his roles in gay porn to pay for school but was suspended for one year from Grove City College, pending his appeal, after a student saw him in a video posted online.
“I absolutely believe this college violated my rights,” Gechter told The Allied News of Grove City. “They (suspended) me based on my occupation. I was not doing anything illegal.”
College spokeswoman Amy Clingensmith said Gechter was suspended because he “exhibited behavior contrary to the values” of the college.
“He also indicated he chose to participate in this behavior knowing it was incongruent with the policies, mission and values of Grove City College,” Clingensmith said.
Gechter told the newspaper he has been in about 15 gay porn scenes in the last two years using the screen name “Vincent DeSalvo.” In doing the work, he said, he flew to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and other places on the weekends.
Gechter, a senior majoring in molecular biology, said he started doing gay porn after he was referred to the industry through a modeling agency late in his sophomore year. See Pa. student appeals suspension for porn role Philadelphia Inquirer * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Study says New York Latinos support gay marriage
| ALBANY — The University at Albany released a study on Tuesday polling the Hispanic population of New York and surrounding states on hot political issues. The New York Latino Research and Resources Network (NYLARNet) surveyed more than 1,200 Hispanics in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Jose Cruz, director of NYLARNet, said the study found half of Latinos in those states supported gay marriage or civil unions despite only 18 percent identifying themselves as liberal.
Cruz started the project in 2004 to get a better understanding of the political temperature in the area. This is the first poll released by the research network. |
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Sen. Arlen Specter to become Democrat
Sen. Arlen Specter to become Democrat
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