Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage today, following similar same-sex marriage legalization in Delaware last week. Governor Mark Dayton posted the photo to the left of him signing the new bill on his twitter account, saying "It's history." This is a rather radical turn-around for Minnesota, as just six months ago, an amendment to the Minnesota State constitution permanently banning gay marriage was almost passed.In addition, the Illinois state senate approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage back in February, and although it has yet to be voted on by the full House, it is half way through the congressional process. So, while national legislation in favor of same-sex marriage has not come yet from the courts as many hoped, it seems that at least over the past few weeks, same-sex marriage has been having success at the state level. A full map of states is shown below:
So what do you guys think? How big of a step forward are the recent Delaware and Minnesota legalizations of same-sex marriage? Do you think they will significantly influence other states or the national government to do the same? Any other thoughts or comments on same-sex marriage in general?
4 comments:
Even though this is a relatively small step for gay rights, it is importance towards equality. With the accumulation of all the states legalizing gay marriage, I believe that it will most definitely influence other states to legalize gay marriage. The more support, the better. However it might take quite some time before a handful of the more religious states agree to legalize gay marriage. I think that more and more people are realizing that the banning of gay marriage is completely unfair their fellow citizens, who should be allowed to marry who they love just like any other heterosexual couple.
I agree with Olivia that this will influence other states to legalize gay marriage. As Minnesota was so close to permanently banning gay marriage, it's huge turn-around shows that states can change in their policies. This will definitely further the fight for legalization as it shows that even states who seem against gay marriage, will ultimately legalize it. I think the national government should follow the states in passing legislation that would legalize gay marriage. Like Olivia said, every single person should have the right to marry who ever they love. They shouldn't be stopped because of some law.
Considering that Delaware and Minnesota projected to both be Democratic states in this past year's election results, I'm not sure that the passing of this marriage bill will have the degree of domino effect that a lot of us are hoping for. I agree with both Olivia and Grace that it certainly should influence how other states might start regarding the issue, but like I said, since the states that passed this are already considered pretty liberal, it may come across to some of the other more conservative states as just being "a nice and expected" gesture.
As for how this bill might affect the states, perhaps more people may want to live there so they can get married, and that could possibly stimulate the local economies to a greater extent. With an influx of people coming into these two states, each will have a larger workforce that can incorporate some special skills that benefit the communities as a whole. In this regard, it is definitely a step forward because it allows for innovation and potential job creation.
Things seem to be happening very quickly in the forefront of the marriage debate nationwide, and I think that it has positive outcomes even farther past the surface fact that it might influence other states.Every time another state is added to the list of states who have legalized gay marriage, more and more people talk about it. It doesn't just make a difference to legislators of states who might be considering legalizing it, but it makes a difference in how citizens of other states (and even the ones in Delaware and Minnesota) look at the issue of equality, and I think that's extremely exciting.
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