Byrnes' proposal would be an amendment to Michigan's Constitution to repeal the Proposal 2 same-sex marriage ban and and would need a two-thirds vote by the Legislature in order to be placed on the ballot in the November 2010 election.
If voters approved it, the amendment would legalize same-sex marriage in the state, recognize marriages from other states and include a provision to allow clergy members to deny certifying a marriage at their place of worship.
However, marriage equality in Michiganhas quite a few challenges. Michael Ginsborg at Proposition 8 and the Right to Marry reports, "Michigan has constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage. Its constitution has a 'super-DOMA' amendment (Art. 1, § 25) that also bans recognition of unions similar to marriage "for any purpose." In National Pride at Work, Inc. v. Governor of Michigan, 748 N.W.2d 524 (Mich. 2008), the state Supreme Court ruled that the city of Kalamazoo could not extend benefits to the qualified domestic partners of city employees."
"This is ... an economic issue," Byrnes told the Detroit News. "Young people want to go to cities and communities that are progressive, accepting of people and have good quality of life. That's something that Kalamazoo is now going to have."
"I know it's going to be a struggle," she said. "(But) we have seen some very significant changes in a short period of time; the ordinance in Kalamazoo is an indication.
"If (people) have a gay daughter or son, they think they should be able to enter into a committed relationship," Byrnes said. "We're going to keep pushing this until we have enough votes to do it."
Dave Maluchnik, director of communications with the Michigan Catholic Conference, doesn't believe the Kalamazoo vote has anything to do with marriage equality. His organization was a major proponent of Proposal 2.
"We've made our position on the issue of marriage loud and clear and will continue to do so," Maluchnik said. "Michigan voters are concerned right now about the state's economy and anything that (distracts) the Legislature from that issue is not in Michigan's best interest."
Though no state has ever approved marriage equality at the ballot and has banned it in 31 states, Byrnes believes what has happened in Maine and all the other states shouldn't keep her from trying.
“The fact that another state didn’t do the right thing, that doesn’t prevent us from trying to do the right thing,” Byrnes said.
"This bill boils down to treating people with the dignity and respect everyone deserves,” Byrnes said at a press conference Wednesday at the Capitol.
“So many of us were raised to treat others how we would want to be treated, so it’s about time we started acting that way as well.”
These numbers are looking oddly familiar. Prop 8 deja vu anyone? :(
* Adam Bink, "Based on what we have and what other news outlets are reporting, now over 60% of precincts are in, including a lot of more rural places, and it's looking like 51-49% against us."
*Results are expected to start coming in at 8pm EST/5pm PST. Bangor Daily News is known for the best tracking of the polls. (This will stay at the top)
* Adam Bink, "Final % in from the city of Portland itself, largest city in the state and a heavy base vote area- No 71%, Yes 29%, without absentees."
* Adam Bink reports,"I just took a look at all the final numbers in from every Portland precinct. Portland is the largest city in the state. We're winning each precinct by a touchdown or two. Portland is the uber-base of base precincts in the state, and we needed to do huge there, and we have."
*Adam Bink reports, "In Portland 5-2 precinct, our worst place in the city, the numbers are approx 1,400 No, 1,100 Yes. Very, very good."
*Campaign manager Jesse Connolly will be doing an interview at 9:15pm EST/6:15pm PST tonight live on Rachel Maddow from the NO on 1 election night party. Governor Baldacci goes on in the 11 hour.
*NO on 1 will broadcast live their election night event on their website.
9 pm- Maine Coalition MC- Betsy Smith, Executive Director of EqualityMaine
Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director, GLAD Shenna Bellows, Executive Director, MCLU Myke Johnson, Anne Underwood or Marvin Ellison, Religious Coalition
9:30 pm- Elected Officials MC: Jesse Connolly, Campaign Manager of No On 1/ Protect Maine Equality
Governor John Baldacci U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree Maine Senate President Libby Mitchell Maine Speaker Hannah Pingree
10 pm- National Partners MC: Pat Peard, No On 1/Protect Maine Equality, Executive Committee Member
Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Joe Solmonese, President, Human Rights Campaign Robin Brand, Senior Consultant, Gill Acti)on
10:30pm- Maine Families MC: Darlene Huntress, GOTV Direstoc, No On 1/Protect Maine Equality
Ray Dumont of Portland reads his Mom's (Yolande Dumont) letter Bill Whitten, Yarmouth Terry Guerette or Tamiko Davies, Portland Jim Bishop or Steve Ryan, Bar Mills
The Approve Referendum 71 campaign wants to remind you that Washington state is now an all vote- by-mail state (with the exception of a small number of voters in one of 39 of Washington’s counties). Unlike some vote by mail states where ballots must be received by Election Day, in Washington state ballots only have to be postmarked no later than Election Day (or dropped in an official ballot drop off boxes by 8:00 pm), meaning ballots are often arriving as late as a week after Election Day. We are sharing this information now because we recognize our system of voting in Washington state is unique and some may draw inaccurate conclusions based on the early returns on Election Night. Close results should not be seen as strength by the opposition or indicative of final results.
ONE KALAMAZOO DECLARES VICTORY IN BALLOT FIGHT Kalamazoo residents approve nondiscrimination ordinance
“Our campaign started with a very basic idea, and today voters confirmed that we are One Kalamazoo,” said Campaign Manager, Jon Hoadley.
With only absentee ballots outstanding, 65 percent of Kalamazoo voters have approved Ordinance 1856 by a vote of 6,463 to 3,527, adding protections for gay and transgender people to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance. This margin is larger than the number of outstanding absentee ballots that are currently being counted.
“I am elated with the outcome of the election,” says Yes on Ordinance 1856/One Kalamazoo Steering Committee member and local resident Janice Brown. “This vote reinforces what our campaign set out to prove – that our fellow residents of Kalamazoo share the belief that all people should be treated fairly and equally, including gay and transgender people.”
The outcome of today’s vote confirmed that all hardworking people in Kalamazoo should have the chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families without fear of being fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.
“Kalamazoo is a great place to live and the passage of Ordinance 1856 makes the city an even better place,” says local resident Rev. Matt Laney, Pastor of the First Congregational Church. “I am proud to live in a city that recognizes that all people deserve fairness and respect.”
The Yes on 1856/ One Kalamazoo campaign in support of the nondiscrimination ordinance involved hundreds of local volunteers and contributors, and had the endorsement of over 30 local religious, social, business, and political organization. The campaign would like to thank the Kalamazoo community for asserting their belief in the inherent equality of all Kalamazoo residents, and the countless volunteers for their hard work and dedication in recent months – and in some case, years – to ensure the passage of the ordinance.
*Polls close for Kalmazoo, MI at 8pm CST/6pm PST. (This will stay at the top)
Voters in six states will decide Tuesday on a range of hot-button issues, from same-sex marriage and medical marijuana laws to borrowing funds for open space.
In Maine and Washington state, voters will decide whether to extend marriage rights to gay men and lesbians.
A ballot measure in Maine would repeal a gay-marriage law passed last spring by the state Legislature. If it fails, it will be the first time a state referendum supported gay marriage, says Frank Schubert, a strategist working to pass the measure, known as Question 1.
"Gay marriage has never been approved in a ballot anywhere in the country," Schubert says.
Mark Sullivan, spokesman for NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality, said Question 1 goes against "the right of same-sex couples to get married."
"It's a matter of fairness and equality under the law," he says.
In Washington, Referendum 71, would give same-sex partners and unmarried seniors who live together the same rights as married couples with the caveat "that a domestic partnership is not a marriage."
Political battles this fall in six different parts of the country could have a profound impact on whether the United States will extend the promise of equal rights to those who are not allowed to marry simply because they are the same sex as their partner.
Three jurisdictions — New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia — seem tantalizingly close to securing legislative approval for measures ending the hurtful and unjustifiable exclusion of same-sex couples from civil marriage. But in Maine, Washington State and Kalamazoo, Mich., voters are being asked on Tuesday to strip away vital rights and protections.
The dominant Election Day battleground is Maine. Last fall, forces of the religious right backed a successful ballot measure that overruled California’s top court by banning same-sex marriage. Now those forces are trying for another mean-spirited victory with Maine’s Question 1, which, if approved, would block the legalization of same-sex marriage passed by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. John Baldacci in May. With the outcome likely to be close, a heavy turnout by voters committed to tolerance and justice is crucial.
Washington State has yet to approve same-sex marriage. But it took a positive step last May when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill that granted gay and lesbian couples the state-provided benefits that married heterosexual couples have, like the right to use sick leave to care for a partner. Voters should affirm this progress by voting yes on Referendum 71.
A third initiative, in Kalamazoo, has the potential to overturn a measure unanimously approved by the City Commission barring discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations. Fair-minded voters should respond by voting yes to uphold the antidiscrimination law.
Bolstered by out-of-state money and volunteers, both sides jockeyed Monday to boost turnout for Maine's referendum on same-sex marriage - a contest that could give gay-rights activists in the U.S. their first such victory at the ballot box.
The state's voters will decide Tuesday whether to repeal a gay-marriage bill signed into law in May by Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.
The contest is considered too close to call, and both campaigns worked vigorously - with rallies, phone calls, e-mails and ads - to be sure their supporters cast votes in the off-year election.
If voters uphold the law, it will be the first time the electorate in any state has endorsed marital rights for same-sex couples, energizing activists nationwide and deflating a long-standing conservative argument that gay marriage lacks popular support.
Conversely, a repeal - in New England, the corner of the country most receptive to same-sex marriage - would be a jolting setback for the gay-rights movement and mark the first time voters overturned a gay-marriage law enacted by a legislature. When Californians voters rejected gay marriage a year ago, it was in response to a court ruling, not legislation
Kalamazoo, MI voters will decide tomorrow whether or not to overthrow the city's new anti-discrimination ordinance which will make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, work and public accommodations.
The opposition has spewed misinformation, claiming women and children will be the prey to sexual predators in restrooms. And now they have released this ad:
And an other ad:
How blatantly wrong is that? They're claiming that assault was made legal. Such liars.
View this local news report about more attacks on LGBT residents.
Help the One Kalamazoo campaign today to help protect LGBT residents from discrimination!
Who we are:Approve Referendum 71 is the campaign to preserve domestic partnerships in Washington State. By voting to approve, voters retain the domestic partnership laws that were passed during this year's legislative session, including using sick leave to care for a partner, adoption rights, insurance rights, and more. What we need: We need phone bankers to get our supporters out to vote. Washington is an all mail-in ballot state, and we need to ensure our supporters put their ballots in the mail. Also, youth turnout is a critical component of our campaign, and youth turnout historically drops in off-year elections. So we need a lot of help to turn them out.
How you do it:Sign up here to make remote calls for Approve 71. We'll then contact you for a training, and you can make GOTV calls.
Washington Voters:Check here to be sure your ballot is properly counted.
Maine:
Who we are: The No On 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign is working to protect Maine's recently-passed law legalizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Our opponents have put the issue on the ballot for Nov 3, 2009. Because of Maine's early voting election laws, people are already voting at the polls, so we need help immediately to turn out our side at the polls. What we need: We need you to devote a few hours to Call for Equality. Call for Equality is a virtual phonebank set up so that you can call Maine voters wherever you are. Much of Maine is rural, where canvassing isn't effective, so we need to reach these voters- along with other supporters- by phone. All you need is a phone and internet connection. No experience required! We'll provide the training, and all you need is a a few hours to help get a win in Maine. How you do it:Click here to sign up for a training and your shift. There are lots of times available for your convenience.
Kalamazoo, MI:
Who We Are: The Yes on Ordinance 1856 / One Kalamazoo campaign is working in Michigan to support the City Commission of Kalamazoo's twice approved ordinance for housing, employment, and public accommodation protections for gay and transgender residents. Opponents forced a public referendum on the ordinance so dedicated local volunteers, led by former Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jon Hoadley, are working to ensure voters say YES to fairness and equality and keep Ordinance 1856. Why The Urgency: In the final weeks, the opposition has gone all out with aggressive disinformation and misleading red herrings to try to defeat the ordinance. This includes signs that say "No to Discrimination" (even though voting No actually supports continued discrimination of GLBT residents), transphobic door hangers and fliers, and now radio ads that falsely suggest that criminal behavior will become legal when this simply isn't true. The Yes on Ordinance 1856 supporters are better organized but many voters who want to vote for gay and transgender people are getting confused by the opposition.
How To Help:
1) Help the One Kalamazoo campaign raise a final $10,000 specifically dedicated to fight back against the lies on the local TV and radio airwaves and fully fund the campaign's final field and GOTV efforts. Give here:http://www.actblue.com/page/3-2-1-countdown
2) If you live nearby and can physically volunteer in Kalamazoo sign up here. If you know anyone that lives in Kalamazoo, use the One Kalamazoo campaign's online canvass tool to remind those voters that they need to vote on November 3rd and vote YES on Ordinance 1856 to support equality for gay and transgender people. Contact voters:http://www.onekalamazoo.com/tellfriends2
Sen. Schumer Calls for Full, Nationwide Marriage Equality
Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke at a Empire State Pride Agenda dinner, the largest LGBT advocacy group in New York. In his speech, Schumer made a call to his colleagues to full marriage equality in all fifty states.
"If Dick Cheney can support marriage, so can every Senator. So can every Democrat, Republican, Liberal Conservative. Equality should know no bounds, and we must not rest until we have marriage in all fifty of these United States."
"We are not going to give them legal advice. We trust that their legal counsel will advise them to comply fully," she said. "The court has ruled that it is in the public interest to do so, and the law couldn't be clearer.
"I would hope that they would file before the election," Mills said. "Why not? What is there to hide?"
Kalamazoo In the Middle of a LGBT Rights Battle
Kalamazoo, MI residents will have to decide whether or not to reject the city commission's non-discrimination ordinance which would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in work, housing and public accommodations.
Mary Balkema, the Kalamazoo County Treasurer, heads the opposition group Kalamazoo Citizens Voting No.
Balkema was instrumental in gathering thousands of signatures two different times to get the measure rescinded by the city commission and placed on the ballot.
Their main argument is that an ordinance protecting the rights of gays and lesbians in hiring, housing and public accommodation isn't necessary. They say discrimination against gays and lesbians simply doesn't happen in Kalamazoo.
"The opposite side cannot site one example of discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodation," Balkema said. "So this discriminatory ordinance is looking for a non-existent problem."
But David Garcia, the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Gay and Lesbian Resource Center, says the ordinance is not only necessary, it's past due.
"When we hear the opposition say that Kalamazoo doesn't need an ordinance because it just doesn't happen here in Kalamazoo, gay people aren't being fired, I'm quick to say come on down here to the Resource Center and volunteer with us for a month, answer the phone calls and you'll see that's' simply not true," Garcia told 24 Hour News 8.
Balkema was responsible for passing an offensive flyer that has scared residents into voting against the ordinance. The flyer shows pictures of men in women's clothing and stating that they will infiltrate women's bathrooms and commit assault, adding that children will have to share bathrooms with sexual predators.
Help the campaign One Kalamazoo! Find even more info here. Washington Post Columnist Debunks D.C. Anti-Marriage Testimonies
The Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, the District's first delegate to Congress, was probably the most prestigious person who testified against same-sex marriage. He spoke at the election board hearing about what he sees as the importance of allowing a vote; afterward I asked him about the substance of the issue.
Fauntroy said that same-sex marriage threatens children. "Every child needs to be bonded to a man and a woman," he said. That ignores research showing that same-sex couples do a perfectly good job of raising children. Also, same-sex couples can already adopt in the District.
Fauntroy also said the "survival of the species" is at stake. "I have some brilliant friends who are gay, and it bothers me that they're not going to pass those genes on," he said.
I've got news for Fauntroy. His friends are more likely to pass on their genes, such as by artificial insemination, if they are permitted to marry. He and the other opponents should get out of the way and let them do so.
Yes on 1 in Maine Claims Their Defaced Signs Is A Hate Crime
From the One Kalamazoo campaign website in Michigan: "One Kalamazoo is the campaign to educate voters about the need to vote YES this November and support the Kalamazoo Non-Discrimination Ordinance. A grassroots organization, one Kalamazoo believes that all people—including gay and transgender people—should be treated fairly and equally when they live, work, or visit Kalamazoo."
This is the campaign's first ad.
Check out a little bit of irony about the images used by One Kalamazoo at Good As You.
Michigan lawmaker, Rep. Pam Byrnes announced a joint resolution Saturday to change the current state law defining marriage between one man and one woman, thus overturning the 2004 constitutional amendment passed by voters that banned same-sex marriage.
The resolution faces many challenges, such as gaining two-thirds approval of the Michigan Legislature before it would be put to voters in the 2010 election. (A route that Prop 8 should've gone through here in California, but the CA Supreme Court apparently disagrees.)
Byrnes felt prompted to launch the initiative after seeing the results of a recent poll that showed Michigan voters have become more favorable to the idea of same sex unions since 2004.
The poll showed considerable support for some gay-friendly policies, but less than a majority (46.5%) in favor of gay marriage. The ballot proposal endorsing traditional marriage was approved 58%-42%
The proposal would be opposed at every step by many of the same groups that successfully supported the 2004 campaign, such as the Catholic Church.
Another opponent, Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, said he doubts even a simple majority of the Democrat-led House would overturn the 2004 statewide vote.
"But it does make for high drama, as political theater goes, to announce such radical legislation during a homosexual 'rights' rally, even though it'll never see the light of day thereafter," Glenn said.
Byrnes said same-sex couples deserve the same rights as opposite-sex couples in state law.
"No doubt, it will be a fight," Byrnes said. "But we're seeing some attitudes change."
Freep.com reports that Glengariff Group pollster Richard Czuba describes a "seismic shift" in public opinion, whose new poll indicates that support for gay marriage has nearly doubled in Michigan since a similar poll in 2004, the year an amendment to the state's constitution was passed banning same-sex marriage.
The October 2004 poll showed only 24% supported marriage equality with this year's poll indicating support increasing to 46.5%, almost doubling. A slight majority of 48% said they opposed, but it was the only LGBT rights issue out of nine that failed to get the majority.
When it came to civil unions, only 42% had supported the legal recognition in 2004, but less than five years later, support jumped up to 63.7%.
"Gay marriage is now where civil unions were five years ago," Czuba said.
Glengariff also measured support for: adoption rights (57.5%), same-sex partner benefits for government employees (65.5%), inheritance rights for gay and lesbian partners (70.9%) and recognition of same-sex marriages from other states (53.5%).
Freep went on to report, "Czuba said a shift in opinion was evident in almost every demographic group, including self-identified Republicans. He attributed much of the change to the sharply higher number of poll respondents who said they know a gay or lesbian person in 2009 (80.2%) compared with in 2004 (56%)."
Read the rest of the encouraging article on Freep.com.
PART 2 (Ann Coulter and the homosexual agenda in this part)
PART 3 (Their objections to gay history in schools)
As I have blogged before, the AFA cries foul when they're told to be quiet and cry censorship, but if we are seen on television in any ad or medium in which we are treated as equals, they'll boycott. Here's an example of an ad they complained so much about, it was immediately pulled off the air in the UK (yes, they attack outside of America, too):
I do agree with one aspect of the AFA's infomercial title - I'm "speechless."
Posts
I'm still catching up on some of the amazing news that broke after last weeks elections.
