Follow Up on New Hampshire

That didn’t take long at all. New Hampshire’s governor has signed legislation making it the sixth state in the U.S. to allow gay marriage.

Once again, you can read The New York Times‘ coverage here.

New Hampshire Is About to Fall

In a move that’s not really much of a surprise, yet another liberal New England state has joined the race to political correctness, regardless of the consequences.

The New Hampshire Legislature approved revisions to a bill on Wednesday. If Governor John Lynch signs the measure into law, New Hampshire will become the fifth state in New England and the sixth state in the U.S. to redefine marriage.

The New York Times has a writeup here .

That makes one more legislature that’s willing to redefine “marriage” to render it essentially meaningless.

The Gay “Marriage” Crew Attempts to Bypass the People. Again.

Back in March I speculated that the way proponents of gay “marriage” set up their arguments before the California State Supreme Court made it look like they were assuming they would lose, but using their case to set up a Federal fight. In that entry, I wrote the following:

… the legal muscle behind the fight for same-sex “marriage” — must have known this. In fact, it’s entirely possible they were counting on just such a result because it would enable them to bring an action before the U.S. Supreme Court.

It’s a safe bet their lawyers already have a Writ drawn up and ready to file. And that they will do so — with a great deal of media posturing — within 24 hours of a decision from the California Supreme Court.

(You can read my original entry here.)

Fast forward to today. The Los Angeles Times is announcing that later today — less than 24 hours after the California State Supreme Court announced its decision in the Proposition 8 case — the attorneys who argued the Bush vs. Gore election case in 2000 will be holding a massive press conference at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to announce that they are filing suit in the U.S. District Court in California. It is likely they will argue that yesterday’s decision by the California State Supreme Court amounts to formal recognition that sexual orientation creates a vulnerable class of citizens in need of Federal protection.

And, predictably, their lawsuit calls for an injunction against the proposition, a move that would effectively nullify the will of the people and the voice of the California State Supreme Court by forcing the State to recognize same-sex “marriages.”

And so, the fight continues, but despite the rhetoric this is not a fight for equal rights. It’s an effort by a small group to seek official endorsement for acts that were previously private, consensual sexual behavior between adults — acts the vast majority of Americans still find morally offensive.

And to win that endorsement, they are willing to destroy the very institution they claim to embrace.

The Battle to Defend Marriage Comes Back to California

One of California’s biggest gay rights groups, Equity California, is laying the groundwork for a campaign to overturn California’s Proposition 8, perhaps as soon as next year.

According to the New York Times, the group has hired a new director, Marc Soloman, who spent several years of working on behalf of same-sex “marriage” in Massachusetts, the first state to legalize such unions, and has announced they will be launching a statewide advertising campaign starting Monday, which will feature gay and lesbian couples talking about marriage. Equity California also announced it will be opening “outreach offices” in conservative parts of the state in coming weeks — including Orange County, the Central Valley and the Inland Empire — where voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 8 last November.

That’s not all. They’re set to begin canvassing neighborhoods — much the same way we did for the election — as soon as this weekend.

It looks like the battle is joined again, far more quickly than most expected. And this time, I don’t think there will be any neutral parties standing on the sidelines.

You can find the New York Times write-up here.

Maine Moves a Step Closer to Redefining Marriage

Earlier today, the Democrat-controlled Maine House of Representatives approved a bill to legalize same-sex “marriage” on a straight, 89 to 57 party-line vote. The State Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats, approved the bill last week in a 21 to 14 vote. Now it goes to the Governor, who could, conceivably, still veto the measure.

You’ll find the New York Times article here.

This marks the second liberal New England enclave that’s moved toward redefining marriage in a month, following Vermont in April. As I wrote a month ago, the battle continues …

Vermont Has Fallen

Another state has fallen. Earlier today, both houses of the Vermont legislature overrode a veto by the governor to pass a law allowing same-sex marriage.

You can read the New York Times’ article about it here.

In one respect, Vermont is different from all the states that now have laws on their books permitting same-sex “marriage:” It is the first to pass a law through the legislature rather than imposing a change through the back door of the courts.

This is disturbing. The Vermont legislature is willing to destroy the very things that make marriage worth protecting so that a minority can find some sort of legal endorsement for acts that were previously private, consensual sexual behavior between adults. And which the vast majority of Americans still find morally offensive.

Except, apparently, in Vermont.

The Battle to Save Marriage Goes to the Heartland

Earlier today the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld gays’ rights to marry. In a summary of their opinion, they wrote:

The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution

You can read USA Today’s brief write up here.

It is interesting that the court viewed marriage as an broad civil right rather than a well-defined social institution. Nothing in any State or Federal law of which I am aware prevents gay and lesbian couples from getting married; the law does prevent them from doing something else and calling it marriage. Under the Iowa court’s decision, no union wishing to call itself marriage could be made illegal — including any bizarre combination you could dream up.

In obliterating the definition of marriage, the Iowa court has made marriage meaningless.

The battle continues …