Many of us are suffering from a surfeit of politics right now, so I’ll keep this week’s update short. One more victory in the U. S., and a few international items: In a case of death by procedural maneuver, a measure to put a same-sex marriage ban on the 2008 ballot looks unlikely to succeed. […]
Americans under 30 voted in the largest numbers for midterm elections in at least 20 years, and may have made a difference in the many close races. Young people favored Democrats by 22 points, nearly three times the Democratic margin among other age groups. Some say this indicates a rising Democratic bloc that could be
The surprising thing is not that Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin passed bans on same-sex marriage. Anyone who knew anything about the cultural makeup of those states knew it was going to be a struggle to defeat those measures, albeit one worth fighting. What surprises me is that the bans
At this hour, the Democrats have regained the House, with Nancy Pelosi becoming the first female Speaker. Out lesbian Representative Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin won reelection, although voters in her home state also approved a ban on same-sex marriage. Openly gay Representative Barney Frank won his race Massachusetts, making him the first openly gay congressional
A public service announcement before the start of Election Day here in the U. S.: If you don’t know where to vote, call 866-MY-VOTE1 (866-698-6831) to find out. You can also use that number (set up two years ago by the non-partisan National Constitution Center) to report any polling irregularities. If you prefer to get
My partner and I applied for a marriage license in Massachusetts Friday, though we weren’t sure we’d be able to do so. We explained to the very nice clerk in the Gloucester City Hall that we did not yet have a home in the state, but my partner will be starting work there on Monday.
It’s always good when someone writes intelligently in a mainstream publication about LGBT rights. Steve Chapman of the Chicago Tribune yesterday tackled the conservative claim that same-sex marriage “would grossly shortchange the needs of children ‘in order to further adult interests in sexual freedom’”: Now, it will come as a shock to heterosexual couples that
Lots of new in advance of the U. S. elections this coming Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights: An Alaska Superior Court will order the state to change its proposed requirements for benefits given to same-sex partners of state employees. Among other things, it ordered that partners who are jointly responsible for a child
November is National Adoption Month, first celebrated (as a single week) in 1976. The observance culminates on National Adoption Day, November 18, when “courts and communities coast-to-coast will come together to finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care and to celebrate all families who adopt.” President Bush, like his predecessors back to Gerald
Today is Halloween, but it’s also one week before the U. S. elections. I thought it was appropriate, therefore, to write about a few things that scare me. Less than 40 percent of those eligible have voted in midterm elections during the past 20 years. I’m scared Democratic voters will see Republicans reeling from the Mark
