Let Love Win
Posted by: Melissa on: April 10, 2009
On April 7, 2009, Vermont became the fourth state of the United States to legalize gay marriage, but the first to do so through legislature’s vote. The Vermont legislature overrode Governor Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill that would allow same-sex marriages. Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa have also deemed same-sex marriages legal. Bills to allow same-sex marriage are before lawmakers in New Hampshire, Maine, New York and New Jersey.
Being from California, I am a little biased. I always saw our state a one of the, if not the, most progressive states of the U.S. So when Prop 8 happened, I thought that progress would never be made until we, the Californians, made it first. Massachusetts had already legalized same-sex marriage all the way back in May of 2004. But it did not have the impact that a state like California would in terms of legislation in other states. I just hoped that when Prop 8 lost (yes, I was naïve enough to think that it was not going to pass), every other state would be in line to allow love to win for everyone equally.
With every new state that legalizes same-sex marriage I am ecstatic, but am also disappointed. Yes, selfish, I know. But I just wanted California to be the progressive one, the one that bent the rules first and caused change, the way it usually is. I mean, the San Francisco is home to the Castro. It’s jealousy I guess. I just thought that I lived in a state where human rights were something that were valued, but I guess I was wrong. I am just happy that other states have higher standards for themselves. Maybe one day we will too.
In addition, seven countries have legalized same-sex marriages: The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway and Sweden. I wonder when the United States will be added to this list.
7 Responses to "Let Love Win"
April 12, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I would agree with Rohan’s comment. It is important to note that D.C. currently only recognizes marriages performed elsewhere, very Israeli of them. It would be interesting to follow the anti-marriage equality groups on the east coast. Too bad for the proposition system.
April 13, 2009 at 5:40 am
It is a shame that these other states can pass these laws yet in California, it had to be reversed. I was truly confident that Prop 8 wouldn’t pass and was extremely shocked that it did. With all the uproar the ensued… I just hope the issue doesn’t die down too much. An interesting point made about countries that have legalized gay marriage. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the lawmakers in D.C. could bypass the states and just legalize it for the entire country? Would love to see that.
April 13, 2009 at 6:17 pm
California can’t be the leader in everything, you have to share the wealth sometimes. I will say that i think there is a very big difference between California liberalism and Northeastern liberalism, that would explain why the northeast is forging ahead faster on this issue then California. The difference is minority populations and, connected to that, how religious the population is. The minority populations in this country are exceedingly religious and, while they vote for democrats (for now), then tend to be very socially conservative on issues like gay marriage. The difference is in the northeast there are many few minorities and a much smaller religious population, resulting in a more socially liberal society.
April 16, 2009 at 6:01 am
I understand your frustration about California not taking the lead on this.
I don’t live in Vermont or Mass or Iowa (as you know) but I wonder if the debates about this issue were AS politicized as they were in California.
The Yes on 8 and no on 8 generated a LOT of attention from a ton of different interest groups and I think that because there was so much controversy about HOW the vote on prop 8 came to being in the first place, it got really bad.
There was a popular vote, where 61% of Californians said YES to the ban on gay marriage, and then the California Supreme Court overruled that public decision based on constitutional grounds and then that was challenged….and then prop 8 was born (and subsequent debates/controversy that followed).
I think it’s a good thing that the California Court is going to revisit the issue. When you leave it in the hands of the people, it really allows arguments for and against gay marriage to get overly complicated and can confuse the general public. That’s what happened in the case of the public vote on prop 8.
But others I know believe that the California Court will stand by its original decision that the ban is illegal and will now use IOWA and other states that have allowed gay marriage as PRECEDENT (which is a very powerful thing in law).
I hope the law speaks fairly, blindly and equally this time.
And hey, at least there are victories in all these different states, in my mind, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes federally legal to marry anyone you choose.
Dreaming of the possibilities of tomorrow,
The Obama Generation
April 17, 2009 at 11:32 pm
I thought it was extremely interesting that Spain has legalized gay marriage because the vast majority of the country is Catholic and very devout. This negates the arguement that religious minority groups in California are the ones who voted to pass Proposition 8. I share your same sentiments about wishing that California had been the first to pass the legislation. it just seems so counter-intuitive that we didn’t. In a way though maybe it motivated other states to get on the ball quicker to legalize gay marriage to prevent the results in CA from setting the tone nationally.
April 18, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Unfortunately Schwartz we have checks and balances, and states rights tend to trump government in most social cases. Just as we want the US to be the global leader, we expect CA to be our state leader. Neither are necessarily true, although they have been progressive in history. We will wait it out and hopefully, through more awareness and funding, CA will take the rightful stance, despite not being the leader on this front.
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April 10, 2009 at 9:16 am
You’d be interested to know that there’s one more place that elected officials are considering looking at gay marriage.
D.C.
That could set a precedent that, while not as comprehensive or far-reaching as something similar in California or, say, Texas would, it still brings the focus back to the much flawed Defence of Marriage Act.