Same-sex marriage backers hail wins
[...] voters approved ballot measures in all three states, and rejected a proposed amendment to Minnesota's Constitution that would have forbidden same-sex marriage.
Supporters of same-sex marriage hope the results will inspire the U.S. Supreme Court to decide favorably on gay rights issues that could come before it - including enabling gay couples to marry in California.
Sometime in the next month, the court is scheduled to decide whether to hear the case involving California's voter-approved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in 2008, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that barred federal marital benefits such as joint tax filing, Social Security survivors' payments and immigration sponsorship to same-sex spouses.
If the court hears the case and rules against same-sex marriage, its decision will come by June, providing supporters of such unions ample time to get a measure on the ballot in California next fall.
Frank Schubert, a Sacramento political consultant and architect of the Prop. 8 campaign, and on the losing side of the four measures on Tuesday's ballots, said public opinion about same-sex marriage has not shifted significantly.
In Washington, backers of same-sex marriage received millions in donations from luminaries including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.