Maine Commission’s Investigation into NOM Fundraising Practices continues
Posted on Mar 04, 2010 at 11:27 am
Nearly four months after Maine voters approved a referendum that overturned their state’s law that had allowed gays and lesbians to marry, the National Organization for Marriage continues to stonewall requests for information from a commission investigating its contributions to the successful campaign.
Going After the “Movable Middle” on the Freedom to Marry
Posted on Mar 01, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Third Way, a Washington DC based think tank, conducted a poll of 600 Maine voters right after Question One passed in November and identified some important trends among the movable middle swing voters.
NOM’s System for influencing Americans about the Freedom to Marry
Posted on Feb 23, 2010 at 03:00 pm
Alex Lopatin discusses the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and "the system that has enabled [it] to exercise its current degree of influence over ordinary Americans."
"This system, or some variant of it, is common to many Christian conservative policy campaigns in this country," Lopatin says. "It involves, briefly, the use of seemingly secular social and 'scientific' arguments to advance a position whose origin is purely religious."
Voice for Equality: Dede Scozzafava
Posted on Jan 26, 2010 at 10:00 am
Dede Scozzafava is an American Republican politician in New York. She has represented District 122 in the New York State Assembly, which includes most of St. Lawrence and Lewis Counties in the North Country and a small portion of Oswego County since 1999.
A pro-choice supporter, she has also consistently made the case when it comes to marriage equality that supporting loving couples should not be a partisan issue. She voted in support of the freedom to marry when it first came up in the New York State Assembly in 2007, and has stood her ground ever since.
Houston Mayor Calls Swearing-In Milestone for LGBT Community
Posted on Jan 05, 2010 at 12:27 pm
The Associated PressJanuary 4, 2010
Houston Mayor Annise Parker said Monday her election to lead the nation's fourth-largest city marked a milestone for LGBT people but was just ''one step toward a tomorrow of greater justice.'' [Link]
When Relationships become personal, Stereotypes fade away
Posted on Dec 31, 2009 at 10:24 am
edge BostonDecember 28, 2009
Recent high-profile setbacks to marriage equality in places perceived to be liberal (New York, Maine) has been countered by the election of an openly gay woman to the mayorship of Houston, Texas. Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson says, "The fact that an openly gay candidate wins for mayor in the nation’s fourth largest city, in the South, in Texas, shows that when Americans get to know gay people as people, not as stereotypes, their resistance to treating gay people equally reduces." [Link]
Op-Ed: A transitional year for marriage equality
Posted on Dec 28, 2009 at 11:29 am
December 27, 2009
Jonathan Rauch states: "For the marriage equality debate, 2009 was transitional instead of transformative, but the year was historic nonetheless. To mangle Churchill, it was not the end, nor even the beginning of the end, but it was at least the beginning of the middle." [Link]
Support for Gay Candidates a Barometer of Public Opinion
Posted on Dec 28, 2009 at 11:17 am
December 27, 2009
Some political scientists say the rise in openly gay candidates’ winning public office is a better barometer of societal attitudes than are the high-profile fights over marriage equality. One key to victory for gay politicians has been building reputations in their communities as candidates well qualified for the job. Voters who may be uncomfortable with homosexuality in the abstract are often willing to vote for a gay individual they feel they know, political strategists said. [Link]
Why I’m (Still) Auctioning Off My Right to Marry
Posted on Dec 23, 2009 at 11:46 am
December 20, 2009
Jamie Frevele, who put her right to marry up for auction on eBay after the New York State Senate failed to approve a marriage equality bill, writes about her decision to donate the money from the auction to the Point Foundation. [Link]
Editorial: Fallen barrier, little fanfare
Posted on Dec 16, 2009 at 01:15 pm
December 15, 2009
The Baltimore Sun editorial board: "Houston voters decided that having a gay mayor is no big deal; perhaps one day they - and the rest of the nation - will think the same about marriage equality as well." [Link]