- In New Hampshire, the House voted 207-125 against amending the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.
- In Ohio, the Cincinnati City Council voted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in employment, housing and public accommodations.
- The governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman Jr., has vetoed an anti-gay bill that would prevent a court from awarding parental rights against the wishes of the biological or adoptive parent. This is good news for non-bio moms.
- On a general note, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national not-for-profit “devoted to improving adoption policy and practice,” released a report that finds “there is no child-centered reason to prevent gays and lesbians from becoming adoptive parents, and recommends that they be utilized more extensively to provide permanent, loving homes for children living in state care across the country.” (Thanks to the ever-informative Gay & Lesbian Leadership SmartBrief for the heads-up.)
- Finally, a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press concludes that while 51% of people in the U. S. still oppose gay marriage, this is down from 63% in 2004, and thus shows increasing acceptance of the idea. “Strong opposition” to gay marriage stands at 28%, a new low, down from 42% in early 2004. When it comes to children, 46% favor adoption by gay men and lesbians, wtih 48% opposed. The adoption issue shows a big partisan split, however, with 55% of Democrats and 52% of independents favoring it, but only 30% of Republicans doing so. Within party lines, though, there are also discrepancies, depending on whether one is conservative, moderate, or liberal. Finally, the Pew report finds that 60% of people support gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, with 32% opposed. (One has to wonder, though, how much of this is because of a change in attitude towards gay people vs. a sense of needing more warm bodies for our overextended military.)
Overall, a net positive week.