What can Same-Sex Marriage "laws" mean to you? Take a look at this video to see how your rights and beliefs can be affected. Family Research Council's video on Proposition 8 in California (see also www.ProtectMarriage.com)

View a 14 minute video on "One Man, One Woman - Marriage and the Common Good" on the New Jersey KofC web site

Are Catholics alone in fostering Traditional Marriage? Read the SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH STATE "Gay Marriage: Bad Science, Bad Politics" by Arthur Goldberg and Michelle Cretella

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On February 23, 2011, President Obama determined that the Defense of Marriage Act — the 1996 law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages — is unconstitutional, and directed the Justice Department to stop defending the law in court. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced the decision in a letter to members of Congress. “The president and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation” should be subjected to a strict legal test intended to block unfair discrimination."  Mr. Obama, who said he opposes same-sex marriage  has said repeatedly that his views are “evolving,” there are political implications as well. This decision comes following his push for Congress to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law barring the military from allowing gay people to serve openly. This decision can be viewed as a dereliction of the enforcement powers of the Executive Branch and pre-determining any decision that will come before the Judicial Branch of the Federal government. (see article)

In the 2008 Election, Arizona, California, and Florida joined 27 other States which Constitutionally ban Same-Sex Marriage . The Media ignores these 30 States and the 8 States which ban it by statute but emphasize the 6 States (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York) and the District of Columbia where Same-Sex "Marriage" has been legalized. Three of the six (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa have been established by Court Decree, NOT by the people of the State nor their legislators. Presently, judicial "legislation" is again being attempted in California where attempts are being made to override the vote of the people banning same-sex "marriage".

(see the Status of All 50 States)

California is a key battleground for same-sex "marriage" judicial "legislation".

On the March 7, 2000, Proposition 22 was adopted by a vote of 61.4% to 38%, adding language from the Civil Code to define marriage as "a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman. This stemmed from Assembly Bill 607 which passed to "prohibit persons of the same sex from entering lawful marriage." 

In September 2005, the California legislature approved the bill to approve a same-sex marriage. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed bill, citing Proposition 22

On May 15, 2008, the Supreme Court struck down California's existing statutes limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples in a 4-3 ruling. The judicial ruling overturned the one-man, one-woman marriage law which the California Legislature had passed in 1977 and Proposition 22.

Following the decision, California issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples from June 16, 2008, through  November 5, 2008 with the passage of  Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to limit marriages to those between one man and one woman, thus banning future marriages between same-sex couples. 

On August 3, 2010, the will of the people of California were again suppressed by the Judicial system. After twice voting to ban gay marriages (one of which modified the state's Constitution), U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the people's vote is "unconstitutional." In effect, 2 gay couples and 1 judge nullified the vote of 7,000,000 voters. In ruling on Proposition 8 passed by 52% of the voters, Judge Walker said, "Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples." (see article). Curiously, Judge Walker happens to be gay himself (see article) but many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say they "don't believe it will influence how he rules on the case." In his lifting of the ban, Walker did, however, not make the same mistake previous justices made by allowing gay marriages to commence immediately. He stayed his order to allow supporters to argue why [the ban] should remain in effect while pursuing an appeal. On August 15, a three judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals continued the stay indefinitely while the Court considers the case which was expedited to begin on December 6 (see article).
The case is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. As such, a similar decision will impact on the 45 states that define marriage as "one man and one woman." The concept of "legislating from the bench" is taking away our rights as voters and citizens. 

There is no letter writing campaign nor calling of legislators that will stop this back-door assault on our rights as citizens and Christians. The decision has been taken out of our hands - except for prayer. 

Connecticut enacted a civil union law in 2005 that provided same-sex couples with some of the same rights as marriage. 

The Connecticut Senate on April 6, 2005 voted 27-9 in favor of a bill providing for civil unions and affirming that marriage is between one man and one woman. Six of the Senate's 12 Republicans and 21 of the 24 Democrats voted for the bill. Six Republicans and three Democrats voted against it.

The Senate vote came after the bill cleared the powerful Judiciary Committee and after Governor Jodi Rell (a moderate Republican) gave her support to the measure. Governor Rell signed the bill into law on April 20, 2005, and it went into effect on October 1, 2005.

On January 31, 2007,  the introduction of a bill was introduced that would give same-sex couples full marriage rights in the state.  Opponents of same-sex marriage said they want a non-binding public referendum on the issue, but when it was offered in committee as an amendment, it was defeated. Governor Jodi Rell had said she would veto any same-sex marriage legislation that came across her desk because the civil unions law "covered the concerns that have been raised". The bill was never submitted to the full House or Senate prior to adjournment of the 2007 session, and it is superfluous because the October 2008 court decision mandated the right to same-sex marriage

On October 10, 2008, the Supreme Court of Connecticut, in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, ruled that failing to give same-sex couples the full rights, responsibilities, and name of marriage was against the equal protection clause of the state's constitution, and ordered same-sex marriage legalized.

On April 23, 2009, the legislature agreed to repeal all the old marriage laws and fully replace them with genderless quotes and all references to marriage will be fully gender-neutral. Governor Jodi Rell, a Republican, signed the law. On October 1, 2010, civil unions will cease to be provided and existing civil unions will be automatically converted to marriages. Until then, existing civil unions will be kept and couples may "upgrade" to marriage voluntarily. Same-sex marriages, civil unions and broad domestic partnerships from other jurisdictions will be legally treated as marriages in Connecticut.

Colorado voters rejected a ballot proposal for domestic partnerships in 2006.

On April 4, 2011, Colorado legislators killed a civil unions bill. The proposal, S.B. 172, would have created civil unions for homosexual and unmarried heterosexual couples. It failed in the Republican-controlled Colorado House Judiciary Committee by a party line vote of 6-5.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver said that opponents of the bill acted in the face of “unfriendly media coverage and heavy political pressure.”  He said that tabling the bill “took courage, especially in an environment of bitter criticism.” He warned that the proposal would increase pressure for “gay marriage” and will likely return “whether Coloradans like it or not.” (see CNS article)

On March 3, 2010, same-sex "marriage" became legal in the District of Columbia as a result of a law passed by a City Council vote (11-2) on December 15, 2009. The US Congress, which had the opportunity to repeal the law, took no action. A local election board, backed up by a local trial court, refused to clear the measure for a public ballot. This issue is pending in the D.C. Court of Appeals. Separately, Chief Justice Roberts, representing the Court of Appeals for the District, denied a emergency stay of the legislation. (see article)

On July 6, 2010, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle vetoed a civil unions bill that would have given same-sex couples the same rights as married couples. She said that voters, not politicians, should decide on the future of same-sex civil unions (see article). In 1998 voters approved a constitutional amendment granting the Hawaii State Legislature the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples, which resulted in a law banning same-sex marriage. Since then several bills creating civil unions were considered, but failed to receive approval until 2010 when this bill, House Bill 444, passed the Hawaii legislature

On April 3, 2009, Iowa became the third state to permit Same-Sex "Marriage". The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court's ruling holding that "there was no important governmental interest in denying citizens marriage licenses based on their sexual orientation". Again, the courts - not the people - made the decision. The only hope to overturn the decision is to amend the state constitution but that path, which would eventually require a public vote, would not yield results until 2012 at the earliest. 

On November 2, 2010, the people of Iowa unseated 3 of the 7 State Supreme Court judges who legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. This was the first time members of Iowa’s high court had been rejected by voters. Under the Iowa system, judges face no opponents and simply need to gain more yes votes than no votes to win another eight-year term. 55% of the people voted to unseat them. The other four judges who voted with them were not up for election this year.
This is “a statewide repudiation of same-sex marriage” and a demonstration against “legislators in robes”. “It’s we the people, not we the courts”, stated campaign leader Bob Vander Plaats. (see article)

The process to undo the Court’s decision is a long one. First, the legislature has to vote on a defense of marriage amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the State Constitution for 2 consecutive years. As of 2010, the majority party has refused to allow the matter to be brought to the floor. After passage by the Legislature, a statewide referendum will allow the people to vote on the amendment. (see Legislative Proposals)

The Maine legislature legalized same-sex "marriage" in their state on May 6, 2009 but the voters rejected the legislation in the November 3, 2009 election. (see article)

On May 17, 2004. Massachusetts begame the first state in the Union to legalize same-sex " marriage". It was of a ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts that the ruling on Goodridge v. Department of Public Health which allowed only heterosexual couples to marry was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution. 

On July 7, 2010, Massachusetts same-sex couples, unsatisfied with their calling civil unions "marriages", sought benefits afforded married couples by the Federal government. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 blocked such benefits. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro declared the Defense of Marriage Law "unconstitutional" (see article).

On March 11, 2011, the state’s Democrats failed to get enough votes to pass a bill that would have made same-sex marriage legal in Maryland. Since the state’s upper chamber had already approved the proposal, they withdrew the bill following hours of emotional debate after realizing it fell far short of the 71 votes needed to pass. Maryland’s Speaker of the House Michael E. Busch vowed to bring the bill back next year. About one-third of Democrats in the House opposed the bill (see article).  In the spirited debate, many African American delegates said they felt pressured to act according to the wishes of their constituency, including black churches opposed to using the word "marriage" to describe same-sex relationships." It turns a moral wrong into a civil right," said Democratic delegate Emmett Burns Jr. (see article).
On July 23, 2011, spurred on by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's lead, Gov. Martin O’Malley said that he would make legalizing same-sex marriage a top priority of his administration by sponsoring a bill next year. (see article).

On June 3, 2009, the New Hampshire legislature legalized same-sex "marriage" in their state and Gov. John Lynch who "personally opposes gay marriage" signed it into law ignoring his own convictions. (see article)

In April 2004, New Jersey enacted a Domestic Partnership law. Even so, same-sex couples found this to be unacceptable and brought the issue to the NJ Supreme Court in Lewis v. Harris in 2006. In a 4 to 3 split decision, the judges directed the legislature to pass civil unions instead of removing the marriage restrictions. In December 2006, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill providing for Civil Unions and recognizing other states' Civil Unions. The law which took effect on February 19, 2007, conferred over 850 rights, privileges and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples. The legislators declined, however, to use the term "marriage" for same-sex unions.

Advocates of same-sex “marriage” in the State Legislature sponsored legislation attempting to redefine marriage using the deceptive titles “Civil Marriage and Religious Protection Act” and "Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act”. When same-sex marriage supporter Governor Jon Corzine was defeated in the November 2009 election, the sponsors of these bills feared their bills would be vetoed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. The sponsors forced the issue during the lame-duck session of the Legislature ultimately forcing the bill to the Senate floor where it was defeated 20-14 on January 7, 2010.

During the same session, an Amendment to the Constitution (ACR120, SCR30) defining marriage as a union by one man and one woman was proposed. It requested a vote by the people (Let The People Decide) after being forwarded through the Legislative Houses. This bill never left the Legislative Judiciary Committees.

The battle continues as the gay advocacy group, Garden State Equity, is pushing the issue to the NJ courts which have been sympathetic to their cause in the past. 

On March 18, 2010, six homosexual couples represented by Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a homosexual activist legal group, have filed a motion which effectively would re-open Lewis v. Harris. This is the lawsuit which the New Jersey Supreme Court commended to the legislature to create an equal structure of benefits which the legislature eventually called ‘civil unions.’ Now they want the NJ Supreme Court to fully redefine marriage to include same-sex couples. Since the imposition of “civil unions” in 2007, only 12 “civil union” couples out of 4,170 “civil union” couples filed formal complaints. In a 3-3 decision on July 27, 2010 (see article), the NJ Supreme Court declined to hear the case stating that the case needs to be tried in lower courts first.

On December 2, 2009 the New York Senate voted AGAINST a same-sex "marriage" bill 38-24. Governor David Paterson had planned on signing the bill which was passed earlier by the State Assembly (see article).
                                                                               ---- BUT ----
On June 24, 2011, newly elected, "Catholic?" Governor Andrew Cuomo pressured the Senate into passing the "Marriage Equality Act" by a narrow 33-29 margin (see history). He promptly signed it the same day putting the law into effect July 24. This makes New York the largest state to legitimize same-sex "marriage". 
The law's passage generated a plethora of gay-positive press and empowered gay activists in other states. Having failed the legislative process in the past, New Jersey gay advocates are again seeking legalization from the judiciary (see article). In Maryland, where same-sex "marriage" advocates failed to muster enough support in March 2011 (see article), Gov. Martin O’Malley said that he would make legalizing same-sex "marriage" a top priority of his administration by sponsoring a bill next year. (see article).

On April 7, 2009 the Vermont Legislature overrode Governor Douglas' veto by one vote to allow same-sex "marriages" in that state. (see article)