After a tumultuous week for New Jersey's marriage equality bill (not being heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee, then finally being heard, and then squeaking out of the committee for a full Senate vote, then the vote being canceled so that the Assembly can take it on, then the Assembly saying it doesn't know if it'll take up the marriage bill), a bit of good news has come out of Trenton today.
The Star-Ledger is reporting that the Assembly Judiciary Committee could add the marriage bill to its schedule shortly after the holidays.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), said the earliest it would appear in the Assembly Judiciary committee is Jan. 4, which would give the issue "a rest until after the Christmas holiday."
"It's their desire to have it the first week in January," he said.
But Gusciora said "anything was subject to change" in Trenton, acknowledging a plan to put the bill to a full vote in the Senate was scrapped earlier this week when there were not enough votes to pass it.
Assembly Judiciary Committee chair Linda Greenstein could not confirm the date for the hearing.
"At this time nothing has been scheduled," said Derek Roseman, a spokesman for Assembly Democrats.
The full Assembly is scheduled to have two voting sessions that same week.
Though nothing is official, it's good that they're considering a "when" and not an "if."
Supporters of the bill need to have it pass both houses before Gov. Jon Corzine leaves office January 19 to receive is guaranteed signature because his replacement, Chris Christie, doesn't care for LGBT rights at all.
The clock is ticking before pro-LGBT Gov. Jon Corzine of New Jersey leaves office January 19, and still the state's marriage equality bill seems no closer to reaching his desk for his guaranteed signature.
Earlier this week, after passing the Senate Judiciary Committee, sponsors pulled the bill from Thursday's schedule before being voted on by the full Senate when it became clear they did not have the 21 votes needed for passage. However, they said they wanted the Assembly Judiciary Committee to have its chance to hear testimony and to vote themselves on the legislation.
New Jersey's Star-Ledger did a survey of the Senators and found that 13 supported the bill, 18 opposed and 9 were undecided or chose not to indicate their position.
"I can’t in any way, shape or form guarantee them [Assembly members] that it will pass at this point," said Senate President Dick Codey, who was handicapping the bill’s chances of passage in the Senate if it wins approval in the Assembly, reports North Jersey.
[Garden State Equality] also was embarrassed by a series of pro-gay-marriage rallies at legislators’ homes and work sites, and in the case of Republican Minority Leader Thomas H. Kean Jr., showing up at his 11-year-old daughter’s piano recital Tuesday.
Several senators bristled at the tactics, saying that the group had gate-crashed into the lawmakers’ privacy zones.
"Would you want them on your property?" replied Sen. Shirley Turner, a Mercer County Democrat who was not expected to vote for the bill. She said the incident only "further entrenched" her opposition.
[Steven] Goldstein issued an apology to Kean that was posted on political Web sites, saying he was "sickened" by the protest, and that he did not authorize it.
The Star-Ledger also reports that the Assembly Judiciary Committee has no hearing date scheduled. Though rules allow Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, a supporter of the bill, to schedule a hearing as early as Monday, he said, "But I must emphasize that no hearing has been scheduled and that I am continuing to discuss this issue with our caucus to gauge whether there is enough support for it."
The Star-Ledger is reporting that Thursday's vote on marriage equality in the New Jersey senate will be delayed. The bill's two main sponsors, Sens. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) say that instead, the Assembly Judiciary Committee will take up the bill in preparation for a full vote in the lower house.
Lesniak believes that both houses of the state legislature will still vote on it before pro-marriage equality Gov. Jon Corzine leaves office on January 19. He also said that the delay is not because they don't have the votes but because they want to the Assembly to engage in the issue and to hear testimony from both sides of the issue just like the Senate Judiciary Committee did on Monday. He believes this is only fair.
Star Ledger reports that senators have been deluged with phone calls from in and out of state but opponents and supports of marriage equality.
"Most of us have spent the last week, even just alone in our district offices fielding questions and speaking to folks, advocates and detractors of the gay marriage bill about this issue," said Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May), who said he will vote against the bill.
"But 99 percent of our attention should be turned towards creating a state government that works, figuring how in God's name we're going be able to balance the budget next year."
Sen. Paul Sarlo (Chair): (201) 804-8118 Sen. John Girgenti (Vice-Chair): (973) 427-1229 Sen. Bill Baroni: (609) 631-9988 Sen. Christopher Bateman: (908) 526-3600 Sen. Jennifer Beck: (732) 933-1591 Sen. Gerard Cardinale: (201) 567-2324 Sen. Nia Gill: (973) 509-0388 Sen. Joseph Kyrillos: (732) 671-3206 Sen. Raymond Lesnick: (908) 624-0880 Sen. Nicholas Scutari: (908) 587-0404 Sen. Bob Smith: (732) 752-0770 Sen. Brian Stack: (201) 861-5091 Sen. Loretta Weinberg: (201) 928-0100
Senators are busy calculating the politics on this, and some will base their vote on that. They admit that in private.
Our hope, though, is that senators take the long view this week and ask themselves how they will feel 25 years from now, when gay marriage will likely be a fact of life. Which side were they on?
Supporters of this cause can take some comfort, no matter what happens this week. Gays have come a long way in New Jersey.
NJ.com is reporting that the Senate Judiciary Committee will take up the proposal and vote on it Monday. Without this committee's approval, the bill won't make it to the full Senate for a vote.
"On Monday in the Judiciary Committee, we're going to vote on marriage equality," [Sen. Ray] Lesniak (D-Union) said, while making the announcement to a crowd of more than 650 gay marriage supporters on the Statehouse steps today.
"On Thursday (Dec. 10) the full Senate is going to vote on marriage equality," said Lesniak, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And God be willing, we'll have 21 votes."
Recently, Sen. Paul Sarlo, who chairs the committee, said ". . . we do not have the votes in the Judiciary Committee," said Sarlo. "Until somebody can demonstrate that we have the votes in the Judiciary Committee, it will not be posted."
Hopefully now that they plan on taking up the proposal, it indicates that things have shifted and the votes may now be secure.
UPDATE 5 5:16p PST: CNN reports that Marist College poll released same day as Senate vote finds that a majority of New Yorkers support marriage equality 51-42%. Only if their representatives would've listened instead of voted with cowardice.
UPDATE 4 2:44p PST:NY Daily News reports lead sponsor Sen. Tom Duane's response. (H/T Towleroad)
"I wasn't expected to be betrayed, and so I have some justified anger," Duane said. "But it's just going to propel me to - I don't want to say redouble my efforts, because my efforts have been pretty strong - but I'm not going to let up."
I'm angry. I'm disappointed. I am let down. I'm betrayed. But I am not going away."
"Unfortunately, I think there was a contagious lack of backbone that occurred here today. And I’m angry about that and sad about that, but it was contagious. Similarly, the opposite would have meant far more votes than anyone had expected but unfortunately that wasn’t the way it went today."
UPDATE 3 2:21p PST: New York's largest LGBT advocacy group, Empire State Pride Agenda, responds to today's vote.
After months and months of tumultuous back and forth power struggles, political maneuvers and looming budget issues, New York's Senate finally got it together enough to vote on the marriage equality bill. Unfortunately, they failed history and civil rights by voting against it 24-38.
These eight Democrats helped defeat the bill:
• Joseph Addabbo (D-Queens) - NO • Darrel Aubertine (D- Cape Vincent) - NO • Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) - NO • Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) - NO • Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) - NO • Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) - NO • George Onorato (D-Queens) - NO • William Stachowski (D-Buffalo) - NO
Openly gay Sen. Tom Duane, lead sponsor for the bill, opened the debate on the marriage bill by telling his fellow senators that voting for the bill will make him equal to his colleagues in every way.
Anti-gay Sen. Ruben Diaz, who was two gay brothers and lesbian sister, said a vote for the marriage equality bill would be "treason." He went on to list all the states that passed same-sex marriage bans, and then reminded the Senate that all the states that do have marriage equality only have it because a court ordered it or the legislature and not the people.
Sen. Diaz concluded by urging the Senate to let the people of New York decide the matter and then proclaimed, "This is the day that the Lord has made."
He was the only senator to speak against the bill.
Sen. Eric Schneiderman said this isn't about morality. "You can't legislate morality," he said, "but you can legislate justice."
Sen. Schneiderman went on to say, "Every generation is called to this quintessential challenge of making Thomas Jefferson's words more true."
Hear Sen. Schneiderman's speech.
Sen. Eric Adams believed Sen. Diaz was speaking "from his heart and not his mind." Then he went on to list states that sold "blacks into slavery" and said, "Just because a numerical majority is in one place, it doesn't mean they are in the right place."
Sen. Adams implored his colleagues to read the comments made against African Americans and their right to marry and they will see they are the same being used against gays and lesbians and their right to marry.
Ending his powerful speech, Sen. Adams said, "You don't have to be gay to respect the rights of those who are."
Hear Sen. Adams' speech.
Sen. Jeffrey Klein, Deputy Majority Leader, started off apologizing that it took so long to vote on marriage and said the senators should not be afraid to vote their conscience.
"We owe it to the entire gay community around New York to pass this legislation," Sen. Klein said. He went on to argue the economical advantage of marriage equality, stating that it will benefit New York to the tune of $200 million over the next three years.
Sen. David Valesky, who was undecided, asked why marriage equality was such a difficult issue. He concluded it was because it was extremely emotional and that senators owe to themselves to listen, to research and peel away the layers and get to the facts.
Sen. Valesky went on to say that marriage equality "can't be a matter of religion." Nothing on the senate floor "can be done in violation of the United States Constitution." The marriage bill could never, in any way shape or form, compel any house of worship to go against their religious beliefs.
"This bill is about a civil, legal commitment that provides benefits to same-sex couples and for this reason I will be voting in favor" of marriage equality, concluded Sen. Valesky.
Sen. Kevin Parker followed, stating "We have an opportunity to change our history. This is the time we strike a blow to one of the last inequalities in our country . . . Stand for marriage equality now because it is the right thing to do and now is the time to do it.."
Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. said, "If this vote was taken in my district today, marriage equality would fail." But he added that this wasn't about demographics. "My mind has been made up. It was made up a long time ago."
"This is a vote of conscience," Sen. Espada added. "I believe it is morally correct to vote 'yes.'... Let's not be scared into ignorance to think that it is not morally correct."
Sen. Diane Savino said she was nervous not because she doesn't how she was going to vote but because she didn't know what the outcome of the vote would be, a rarity for the New York Senate.
"This vote is about an issue of fairness and equality, not political," she said. "I hope we are going to make history here today." She went on to make a great speech about the farce the heterosexuals have made of marriage.
Sen. Liz Krueger said voting yes "is not a hard vote for me. I never had to think twice." Holding back tears, she said she knew about discrimination because she's a Jewish woman. "My religion says I must vote yes today."
Sen. Daniel Squadron said he wanted all New Yorkers to have the joy of marrying the one they love, as he recently did.
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery said that in the older days, religious belief dictated that people living together outside of marriage was considered sin. "For those of you who wonder why we should support people being able to marry, we do not want them living in sin."
"The churches would not exist without choir directors, many of whom are gay," she went on to say, talking about her constituents. "They would like to have the right to marry . . . I am going to vote so you have every right that every other citizen has."
Sen. Jose Serrano opened his speech by saying, "This is truly a wonderful day . . . Extending civil rights . . . will make our communities stronger . . . No one should be subjugated to less rights than anyone else." He added, "History once again will prove this civil rights movement to be right and correct."
Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, who had thus far been undecided, for the first time declared her brother was gay. Her brother had disappeared from his family because their mother was a pastor and his parents did not accept him. After a long search, she found him and told how he suffered the death of his partner and the struggle he faced because they did not have the right of married couples.
Hear Sen. Hassell-Thompson's speech.
Referring to her sister who is now a pastor, Sen. Hassell-Thompson said her sibling would not agree with how she was going to vote. "No one elected me to be moral arbiter of their choices. But they did elect me to be a leader," she declared.
Referring to the many calls she received from her constituents, she said, "I am going to vote so you have every right that every other citizen has . . . I will be voting yes today."
Sen. Craig Thompson said, "This is about love and two individuals who love each other . . . this is about civil marriage!"
Sen. Bill Perkins thanked the LGBT rights movement for their vigilance and their push on the Senate to get them to vote on the marriage bill. "More than half the people in this room would not be here at another point in time. Marriage equality is here. And it is inevitable . . . It is inevitable that we will be successful . . . it is a change that is going to come. MLK is looking down on us today . . . I vote Aye."
Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer asked, "Some people have said to me [same-sex marriage] diminishes their marriage. I don't understand that. Why would it diminish my marriage?"
"Please don't quote the Bible or refer to it if you are not clear on what it really means," said Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm Smith, who had earlier denied the marriage bill to come to the senate floor for a vote. "The Bible does not say that same-sex marriage is wrong . . . What's wrong is when you use the Bible for your own purposes."
He added, "When you experience discrimination, it hurts."
Openly gay and lead sponsor Sen. Tom Duane closed the debate. "To my [undecided] colleagues, there is still time to feel my gratitude in its fullness!"
Tearing up, Sen. Duane said, "Thank you for letting me have my rage . . . my sadness . . . my office is always a cry safety zone."
"The time is never right for civil rights. But the paradox is, it's always the time to be on the right side of history," Sen. Duane continued. "We are beating New Jersey today. Unfortunately, we are behind Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont - I may have left one out," he laughed. Well, the list is getting longer.
"I don't give up. I don't know how to," he went on.
Sen. Tom Duane had to stall the vote by extending his speech several minutes. Joe.My.God reports that the Republicans were pulled out and being strong-armed into voting against the bill.
As he voted, Sen. Diaz told his colleagues not to leave their Bibles behind and said he stood alongside Bill Clinton in voting against marriage equality.
Sen. Duane, when he stood to vote, corrected Sen. Diaz, reminding the senate that Bill Clinton has changed his position and now supports marriage for gays and lesbians.
Unfortunately, it appears most of the senators either clutched their Bibles or voted in fear for their jobs.
Yet because the Senate is expected to vote on their version of the bill today (I'll believe it when I see it) in an extraordinary session (not a regular one), the Assembly had to vote on the bill again Tuesday night to clear all hurdles for its passage.
Just a few moments ago, the New York State Assembly passed marriage equality legislation for the second time this year in a bipartisan vote of 86 to 51. By taking a vote in what is called an “extraordinary session,” the Assembly has removed any obstacle to the bill being sent to the Governor for his signature if the Senate votes on the bill when it reconvenes tomorrow to conduct business.
The Pride Agenda gives special thanks to the New York State Assembly, under the leadership of Speaker Sheldon Silver, that has now voted and passed the marriage equality bill three times. Our thanks also to the legislation’s prime sponsor Assemblymember Danny O’Donnell for leading the successful effort again on the floor.
It is anticipated that forces opposing marriage equality may be coming to Albany tomorrow to put pressure on the State Senate to take no action on the bill. We continue to expect the Senate to give this issue the respectful debate and vote it deserves.
In a vote 11-2, the D.C. Council approved the marriage equality bill. A standard second vote is scheduled in two weeks and then the bill must get past a 30-day Congressional review period; however, Congress is not expected to intervene, just as they didn't when the council voted to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed outside their jurisdiction.
“Republicans say it is unlikely they could attract enough Democrats to overturn the law,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
“What a splendid moment this is for all of us,” said Council member Jim Graham (D – Ward 1). “When one of us is denied a right, we are all denied the right.”
This is the good news I've been needing to hear.
Now I just want to see the look on Bishop Harry Jackson, Maggie Gallagher and Brian Brown's faces.
As late as yesterday, the Catholic Church leadership in D.C. were still trying to negotiate compromises in the bill. It remains to be seen if they will follow up on their threat to end their charities in the capital.
According to Bob Summersgill on Twitter, lead sponsor David Catania said the bill is still open to amendments, but as of right now, unless they change their policy on not granting their public gay employees spousal benefits, Catholic Charities will be in violation of the law.
Our Families Count reports that D.C. has the largest percentage of same-sex couples in the country with 1.5%, doubling any other state. This is roughly equivalent to 3,600 couples. Opposition would face a stiff challenge at the ballot box.
Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry said in response, "Today, the District of Columbia’s City Council listened to their constituents and overwhelmingly voted in support of protecting families throughout the District, the first of two votes needed by the council to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage. A majority of voters, and families, from across New York and New Jersey now look to their representatives in the state legislature to do the right thing and vote in support of the freedom to marry. As research has shown, by voting for the freedom to marry for gay couples, legislators in these states will continue to be re-elected just as every other state legislator who has voted in support of marriage equality and ran for re-election."
According to the Times Union report yesterday, "The Senate is prepared to hold the long-delayed vote on gay marriage if the deficit reduction package can be put to bed in time tomorrow. Since the bill would pass in extraordinary session, the Assembly would have to debate and vote on the measure despite the fact that it passed marriage equality legislation months ago."
But Elizabeth Benjamin of the New York Daily News says that the deal on the budget may be falling apart, resulting in the marriage vote to be put on hold yet again. Shock.
The bill has faced stiff opposition from the Archdiocese of Washington who threatened to end their charitable work in the district if it passed. Since the church receives public funds due to contracts with the city, they said they would be forced to give benefits to gay employees' spouses and objected. The Council has tried to find a common ground with the church but has not given any indication that a lack of resolution would keep them from passing marriage equality.
Some 200 prominent New Jersey Democrats are urging the Legislature to vote on a gay marriage bill.
The Democrats , including members of Congress, fundraisers and lobbyists , released a letter to leaders in the Senate and Assembly Tuesday demanding the bill be voted up or down before the lame-duck session ends in January.
We believe that equality and fairness are fundamental principles of New Jersey's Democratic Party, and that is why we call on the state legislature to vote immediately on, and pass, the marriage equality bill.
New Jersey has a proud history of supporting civil rights. It was this legacy that encouraged many of us to become involved in politics. We believe that allowing committed gay and lesbian couples to marry is, at its core, about treating our family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors with dignity and respect.
We appreciate that this is a difficult issue for some state legislators. But marriage equality is an idea whose time has come. We are confident that the voters will stand by those elected officials who do the right thing.
When our children and grandchildren look back on this moment, we want to be able to tell them that we, too, did the right thing.
As Martin Luther King poignantly reminded us, "the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." That is why we're proud to lend our names and our voices to this important cause. We do so in our capacity as private citizens and Democratic voters, and not on behalf of any particular office or organization.
"The letter to Democratic legislators was signed by a combination of veteran party leaders, young staffers, major fundraisers, political consultants and operatives, and local elected officials," reports the PolitickerNJ, who has a full list of signers, which include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and U.S. Reps. Rush Holt, Frank Pallone and Steven Rothman.
Today at 12pm EST/9am PST, the New York Senate special session is set to begin. On the agenda is the state's marriage equality bill on which they're to debate and vote. Bookmark this page.
UPDATE 3 4:35pm PST: The AP is now reporting that Gov. Paterson is pushing for a vote on the marriage equality bill next week for special sessions on November 16 and 17. So it appears will be going through this process yet again.
UPDATE 2 10:40am PST: I must say, this does not come as a surprise to me. The New York Times is reporting that the state senate will not take up the marriage equality bill today.
Republicans and Democrats said that as of Tuesday afternoon the measure was still several votes short of the 32 necessary for approval. About five Democrats remained either opposed or noncommittal, meaning that Republican votes were needed to secure passage.
-----
It was unclear when the Senate would take the issue up. Wednesday is Veteran’s Day and a holiday, meaning that it would be at least the end of the week before they could vote on the bill. "It sounds like today is just not going to be the day," said Senator Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat from Manhattan who has been one of the same-sex marriage bill’s main proponents. "There are a lot of us who want to see it voted on and passed as soon as possible. So if today’s not the day, I think our views on the overall strategy don’t change."
This does not mean the bill is dead. The NY Times reports that a vote could come next week.
UPDATE 9:10am PST: It's not looking good for marriage equality. The New York Daily News is reporting:
As of this moment, the outlook for the same-sex marriage bill is not good, and it appears likely that the measure will not come up for a vote when the Senate convenes at noon for a
A source involved in the negotiations said definitively: "It is not coming to the floor."
Though I reported yesterday the Democrats, who control the chamber, were negotiating late into the night Monday on whether or not to submit the bill for a vote, Newsday reports that no final decision was made. The state's $3.2 billion deficit may take up the whole session.
Two of his brothers are gay, he murmurs, one of them recently deceased. So is a granddaughter. There is an old friend who works for him in the Senate. And a former campaign aide.
“I love them. I love them,” says Mr. Díaz, who grew up one of 17 children in Puerto Rico. “But I don’t believe in what they are doing. They are my brothers. They are my family.”
His voice rises again. “So how could I be a homophobe?"
Uhm, easily. Suppressing the rights of LGBT citizens from living full lives so they're not equal to yours is homophobia.
He's one of those hurdles we have to clear. The Democrats have control of the chamber 32-30. Obviously Diaz, who is Democrat, won't vote with most of his party. So we need some moderate Republican support.
ACTION: If you're a New Yorker, contact your Senator and tell them to vote for marriage equality!
Mainers don't have to wait for the November 3rd referendum election to cast their vote for marriage equality. People can vote as soon as September against referendum 1 which if passed will eliminate same-sex marriage.
Registered voters can request an absentee ballot via mail and cast their vote early.
Please fill out the form via Equality Maine for their tracking purposes, and to be re-directed to the Secretary of State's form for ballot requests.
Considered a first step towards full recognition, a resolution is expected this fall that would legalize the performance of same-sex marriages within the capital itself.
However, opponents believe that this shouldn't left to public officials but should be decided by the people, an argument used against the earlier resolution.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Robert King of Ward 5 has sent a proposed resolution to each of the city’s 236 commissioners calling for a D.C. ballot initiative next year to decide whether same-sex marriage should be legalized or banned in the nation’s capitol, and he hopes a majority will sign on.
“The definition of marriage is too serious and too important an issue to leave in the hands of the politicians without consulting the will of the people,” King wrote in an Aug. 4 letter to his fellow ANC commissioners.
King's resolution doesn't take a stand on whether marriage equality is harmful, just reinforcing the argument that the people should decide.
“So really, what this is, is an attempt to go around our elected officials in order to attack gay and lesbian families,” Crawford said. “This has nothing to do with democracy or people having a vote because they clearly had a vote when they elected the members of the City Council and the mayor, the vast majority of whom supported us on marriage recognition.”
Want to get involved in hands-on actions? Interact with voters by canvassing and phone banking to explain why they should support LGBT rights? Then check out Vote for Equality. See how you can get involved by reading their flyer below.
Continuing with its mission to educate ourselves on those who voted for Prop 8, Unite the Fight is posting this press release with in depth information on the Asian community and its voting record on the proposition.
Data Released Showing That Asian American Voting on Proposition 8 Significantly Influenced by Age, English Proficiency and Religiosity
LOS ANGELES, CA – Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC), API Equality-LA, API Equality, and California Faith for Equality (CAFFE), held a briefing today to release data showing Asian American voting trends on Proposition 8 during the November 2008 election. The November 2008 Southern California Voter Survey ("2008 Voter Survey"), conducted by APALC, is the largest and most comprehensive exit poll of Asian Americans in California.
Preliminary data from the 2008 Voter Survey shows that, similar to other racial and ethnic groups, age and religiosity are determining factors in voting on Proposition 8, with younger voters and those who "never" attend religious services significantly more likely to oppose Prop 8. In addition, the survey shows that level of English proficiency is also critical, with fluent English speakers much more likely to vote against Prop 8.
"Because of the intense and continuing interest in how different communities voted on Proposition 8, we are releasing this data to better inform current organizing, planning and strategizing to achieve marriage equality," said Karin Wang, Vice-President of APALC and member of the API Equality-LA steering committee. "Other reports and analysis have not included significant samples of Asian American voters, particularly those who do not speak English fluently. APALC surveyed 1,200 Asian American voters in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, including hundreds of voters who identified as limited English speaking."
Although the data is preliminary because it is not yet weighted to account for actual voter turn-out amongst Asian American voters, the data shows several key trends that mirror other nationally-reported trends. Because this is preliminary data, the focus is on trends and patterns, as opposed to specific numbers. (For more details, please see attached graphs or download them from http://demographics.apalc.org/)
* BY ETHNIC GROUP – Overall, Asian Americans in the 2008 Voter Survey narrowly supported Proposition 8 – 54% Yes to 46% No. By ethnic groups, there were small differences between Yes/No votes for Asian Indian (slight majority of No voters) and Filipino and Vietnamese American voters (small majority of Yes voters). The major difference in pattern is among Korean American voters, with Korean American significantly more likely to support Prop 8 by a wide margin. "Although we know our community will be highly interested in the ethnic-specific data, we believe that the more useful analysis is by age, English proficiency and religiosity, where the correlation to voting on Prop 8 is much stronger," said Dan Ichinose, director of APALC's Voting Rights Project.
* BY AGE – Overall, Asian Americans between the ages of 18 to 34 voted significantly against Prop 8 (69% to 31%), with some Asian ethnic groups showing more than three-fourths of its young voters opposing Prop 8. As with other racial and ethnic groups, age is a key factor in influencing how an individual voted on Prop 8 and with age comes support for Prop 8. Across the board, in every Asian ethnic group, older voters (65+) were significantly more likely to support Prop 8, with approximately two-thirds to three-fourths of older Asian Americans voting Yes. "Asian Americans mirror the statewide patterns that have emerged in other surveys, where young people voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8 but their parents or grandparents voted strongly in support of Prop 8. We have experienced this in our grassroots education and organizing and we are heartened by it as a sign that change and progress is possible in our communities, moving between generations," said Marshall Wong, Co-Chair of API Equality-LA.
* BY ENGLISH PROFICIENCY – Overall, Asian Americans who were fluent in English clearly opposed Prop 8 (58% opposed) whereas few of those who were limited English speaking opposed Prop 8 (25% opposed). Across all Asian American communities, these patterns held true, with support for Prop 8 rising as English proficiency decreased. "This data underscores what many of us working in the community have known all along, that educating our communities in a language they understand is critical to winning the battle for marriage equality," said HyunJoo Lee, National Organizing Coordinator at the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium. "This holds particularly true for the Korean community, in helping to explain why so many Korean Americans voted for Prop 8 – the Yes on Prop 8 campaign flooded Korean media with information while the No on Prop 8 campaign focused mostly on English language media."
* BY RELIGIOSITY – Probably the strongest indicator of Proposition 8 support or opposition is religiosity. Across the board, the 2008 Voter Survey found that Asian American voters regardless of ethnic group were overwhelmingly more likely to oppose Prop 8 if they "never" attended a church, temple, or mosque (71%) than if they "never" attended (25%). For those that "sometimes" attended, a majority (55%) opposed Prop 8. This pattern is consistent across Asian ethnic groups, with each group showing a steep decline in opposition to Prop 8 based on whether the voter "never", "sometimes" or "regularly" attended a church, temple, or mosque. "Consistent with the recently released analysis from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which found that religiosity was one of the most determinative factors in supporting Prop 8, today's data also shows that more than ethnicity or even age, religion is key to influencing how Asian Americans voted on marriage equality," said Jonipher Kwong, Interfaith Organizer for California Faith for Equality. "This underscores the need to work across lines of faith to open up dialogue about the role that churches and other houses of worship have in creating a more equal society for all of our community members."
"The data released today fills in a picture that other studies and exit polls have begun to paint regarding the how communities of color voted on Prop 8," said Tawal Panyacosit, Director of API Equality in San Francisco. "This data is also consistent with what has been previously released, based on surveys of English-speaking Asian Americans, which have shown Asian American voters opposed to Prop 8. We believe that the data in general reflects the successful outreach and education that groups like API Equality and API Equality–LA have led in the Asian American community, particularly amongst English speaking and youth cohorts. At the same time, today's data underscores the need to expand strategies and resources to focus on limited English speaking and religious members of our communities. We strongly believe that the differences in our community reflect less a fundamental difference of thought so much as an unequal distribution of resources and information."
A new study on California's vote to ban same-sex marriage has revealed that far fewer African Americans voted for the ban. Exit polls released shortly after election day showed that about 70% voted for the ban, but the new in-depth study found a much different number: 57% to 59%. Out of roughly 700,000 African American votes, that's a huge difference.
Though I don't want to get into the details of the study, it does conclude that race was less of a factor in determining one's vote - it was more age, ideology and religious beliefs across ethnic groups.
As a community, the LGBT response to the vote has been to focus on minority groups in an effort to educate them more about who we are and how we live our lives, to show them that we are just like everyone else. And though this is good and must continue, this new study shows that only time can make the big change. Why? A quote from The Advocate.com:
"Perhaps surprisingly, the study also revealed that partisanship and ideology trumped the fact of knowing someone who is openly LGBT. About two-thirds of the state’s self-identified conservatives knew someone who was gay and about 4 out of five of them voted for the measure – the same exact ratio of conservatives who voted for Prop. 8 but didn’t know an openly LGBT person. Republicans demonstrated a similar pattern, with about four out of five of them voting to pass the ban regardless of whether they knew anyone who was out or not."
To really make a significant change in society so that, if necessary, same-sex marriage can pass on the ballot, people's beliefs and ideology must change, something that will likely never happen. Reaching out to this group doesn't appear to make that much of a difference because 4 out of 5 of them, who knew someone from the LGBT community, still voted to strip us of our rights.
So where's the hope? What's the key to our success? The new generation involved in what is currently known as the "youth movement." Just eight years ago, Prop 22 passed with 61% of the vote, while Prop 8 barely made it with 52% (Graph). Many of the "No on Prop 8" votes came from those who weren't old enough to vote in 2000, and not just secular youth. There's a panic in the right wing as they realize their own youth are trending towards support for same-sex marriage (read this illuminating article from ABCNews.com about the shift). This shift isn't just for gay rights, but also abortion.
This new generation is our key to success, our hope. When I say it may take time for our success, I don't mean a lot of time. I'm not going to "wait", a piece of advice MLK rejected in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". I'm going to help educate those who are open-minded, who are willing to look at me as a person and not a plague to "the family", who can see past lifestyle differences and respectfully acknowledge me as a fellow citizen of their country, not a second-class citizen. I'm not going to waste my resources on those who have proven again and again that though they may love me to my face, will continually stab me in the back by voting my rights away. And if we do in fact get a new initiative on the ballot in 2010, a mere year away, to allow same-sex marriage, I have complete faith that, with the help of this new generation of both secular and evangelical youth and our renewed focus on them, it will indeed pass.
A new poll shows that a majority of registered voters in Connecticut support same-sex marriage, which the state's supreme court legalized in October. According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday, 52% of voters support the ruling, 39% oppose it, and 9% are undecided, Newsday reports.
A stronger majority -- 61% -- oppose banning same-sex marriage via a state constitutional amendment, the paper reports. Marriage-equality foes had hoped voters would approve a constitutional convention so state legislators could discuss the matter, but the proposal failed at the ballot box on Election Day.
The poll surveyed 1,445 registered voters between December 11-15 and includes a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
In an effort of continual education on those who voted for Prop 8, I've decided to post an interesting NY Times Op-Ed piece written by columnist Charles M. Blow, which discusses some theories on why black women, who were twice as likely as black men, voted for Prop 8.
An intriguing read that can inform our efforts to repeal Prop 8. Also a graphics editor, Charles M. Blow posted this graph below which is a great visual of statistics. It gets lost amongst the busy layout of the website, so I wanted to be sure to post it here.
I know Dan Savage probably isn't the final word on this issue, but let's hear him out.
However, Nate Silver, known to be an excellent pollster, uses hard voting data, and after close analysis, he actually agrees with Mr. Savage. Read his analysis.
With this in mind, take another look at the recent map that I posted earlier today diagramming who voted what and where in LA County. See post This only furthers our knowledge of the opposition and will continue to fine-tune our strategy to reach out to those who were lied to and misled about Prop 8.
KEEP POSTED ABOUT THE TOWN HALL. Together as a community, we're going to determine exactly what this strategy will be.
Posts
After a tumultuous week for New Jersey's marriage equality bill (not being heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee, then finally being heard, and then squeaking out of the committee for a full Senate vote, then the vote being canceled so that the Assembly can take it on, then the Assembly saying it doesn't know if it'll take up the marriage bill), a bit of good news has come out of Trenton today.
