Three States Eye Overturning Bans on Same-Sex Marriage
What do Michigan, Ohio and Oregon have in common? Well, in addition to having the really delightful acronym, MOO, they are all three states where rumblings are afoot to overturn constitutional bans on gay marriage.
Overturning bans in these three states is an endeavor that's years away, and will be at the mercy of either state legislators or voters at the ballot box. But the fact that there's now space in the marketplace of ideas to push for overturning these bans -- all of which were just enacted within the past five years -- is a sign that marriage equality advocates have come a long way since the darkest days of this decade when gay marriage bans were as popular as ice cream. What a difference a few years can make.
In Michigan, legislation is moving forward introduced by state Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Pam Byrnes that would overturn a 2004 constitutional ban on gay marriage and enact marriage equality. "This really boils down to treating all people with the dignity and respect everyone deserves," Byrnes said when she introduced the bill. "So many of us were raised to treat others how we'd like to be treated - it's about time we start actually doing that. Last time I checked, the Golden Rule didn't say, 'Treat others how you'd like to be treated, unless they are gay or lesbian.'"
Ohio is also choosing to go the legislative route, with State Rep. Tyrone Yates from Cincinnati introducing a bill that would overturn the Buckeye State's ban on gay marriage. Yates' bill would eliminate the part of the Constitution that voters added in 2004 that prohibited gays and lesbians in the state from marrying. "The profile on this issue is rising once again in Ohio," Rep. Yates said. "[Banning same-sex marriage is] causing us economic and social harm in our ability to attract and keep people here.''
Oregon is the odd bird out on this one, taking their campaign directly to voters where a repeal of the state's constitutional ban on gay marriage will have to be approved at the ballot box. There, marriage equality advocates kicked off a voter education campaign earlier this month aimed at an eventual repeal of a ban on gay marriage. "There is no substitute for the respect and dignity that comes with marriage," Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, told the Oregonian.
It's going to take a heck of a lot of work to overturn the bans on gay marriage in these three states. No state legislature has overturned a constitutional ban on gay marriage. And 31 times, gay marriage has been beaten at the ballot box.
But what seems insurmountable today might not seem out of reach tomorrow. It's kind of like that old Dale Carnegie quote, "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." Hard to argue with that.
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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