Same-sex marriage in New England - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Same-sex marriage is legal or has been legalized in four of the six New England states: Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, and New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. The New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

region has been noted for being the nucleus of the same-sex marriage movement in the United States, with the region having among the most widespread and earliest legal support of any region. In 2004, Massachusetts

Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts

Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution to allow only heterosexual couples to marry...

became the first state in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

, to be followed by three more states between October 2008 and June 2009. This followed Vermont being the first-in-the-nation with civil unions in 2000. Currently, Iowa

Same-sex marriage in Iowa

Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009.Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases on same-sex unions, starting in Hawaii, found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection...

, New York

Same-sex marriage in New York

Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24, 2011, by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day...

and the District of Columbia are the only U.S. jurisdictions outside New England performing same-sex marriages, and California

Same-sex marriage in California

The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...

performed them for five months in 2008.

The legalization of same-sex marriage was part of a campaign which began in November 2008, called Six by Twelve, and was organized by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) to legalize same-sex marriage in all six New England states by 2012.

The region holds a number of firsts on same-sex marriage: Vermont was the first state to enact it through legislative means and not because of a judicial ruling, and Maine

Same-sex marriage in Maine

Same-sex marriage in Maine is currently unrecognized. A bill to allow same-sex marriages in Maine was signed into law on May 6, 2009, by Governor Baldacci following legislative approval, but opponents successfully petitioned for a referendum on the issue, putting the law on hold before it went into...

was the first state to have a governor sign a same-sex marriage bill that was not the result of a court decision. However, Maine's gay marriage law was repealed through a people's veto.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

are the New England states that do not have same-sex marriage. Despite this, support in Rhode Island for same sex marriage is consistently within the 54% range. There have been numerous reasons given for why New England has found such strong legal recognition for same-sex marriages in comparison to the rest of the United States.

Overview

New England is the only part of the country where a block of states has granted marriage rights to same-sex couples. The rapid makeover of its legal landscape makes New England a notable standout within the United States. In other parts of the country, while support for same-sex marriage has been gaining steadily, is still a minority view. Only one state and one district outside the region, Iowa

Same-sex marriage in Iowa

and the District of Columbia, currently allows same-sex marriage; voters in California struck down a law supporting such marriages during the fall of 2008.

Although the same-sex marriage movement started here five years ago, when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize it, its growing foothold in the region was not a foregone conclusion. Though politically liberal, New England has not been a hotbed of social revolution in the same vein as California.

Possible Reasons

There have been several reasons given for the strong legal recognition in New England, in contrast to the rest of the United States. For instance, New England has strong libertarian

Libertarianism

Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...

associations, and other social movements, such as abolition of slavery and women's suffrage

Women's suffrage

Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...

, started in New England. In addition, voters in most New England states cannot initiate constitutional amendments, which has been a common strategy in preventing same-sex marriage elsewhere.

By polling

There are a number of demographics which worked to same-sex marriage proponents favour:

New England is regarded as the least religious region of the country, and religiousness has been tied in polls to opposition to same-sex marriage.
There are a large number of Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

in New England, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

and independents
Independent (voter)
An independent voter, those who register as an unaffiliated voter in the United States, is a voter of a democratic country who does not align him- or herself with a political party...

to support same-sex marriage.
New England has higher education attainment levels than the rest of the country, and polling has shown that support for gay marriage rises with education levels.
Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire have among the highest percentage of white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

citizens in the country, and polls have shown whites are often less likely to oppose gay marriage than many ethnic minorities.

By culture

There have been a number of opinions made on possible cultural factors that could have contributed to the strong legal support in New England:

New Englanders outside Massachusetts share media markets and do not believe they have seen negative consequences from the state's legalization of same-sex marriage there. As well New Englanders have seen same-sex unions for a decade, since Vermont was the first in the nation with civil unions in 2000.
Same-sex couples have found more acceptance in New England for over a century, for instance "Boston marriage
Boston marriage
Boston marriage as a term is said to have been in use in New England in the decades spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries to describe two women living together, independent of financial support from a man. The term was little known until the debut in 2000 of the David Mamet play of the...

s" between women in the 19th century.
There is a view of religion as private and personal, and a separation of one's own beliefs from politics, that does not necessarily exist in other regions of the country
Catholics, who dominate the region's religious landscape, were at one point a persecuted minority, and may see their own past reflected in the modern LGBT community.
The presence of GLAD in the region, which is based in Boston.

"Six by Twelve" campaign

The 6x12 campaign, led by GLAD and working with other statewide groups, began on November 18, 2008, the fifth anniversary of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 , was a landmark state appellate court case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S...

, which legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

, with the goal of bringing same-sex marriage to all of New England by 2012.

The campaign began a week after same-sex marriage was brought to Connecticut, and the campaign is striving for New England to be a "marriage equality

Marriage Equality

Marriage Equality USA is an organization working for marriage equality for all non-heterosexual couples. The group works by doing public education and outreach, media campaigns and holding visibility events. Marriage Equality, Inc...

zone." To achieve this, groups have been raising money, training volunteers and lobbying voters and lawmakers as part of this campaign, led by GLAD, which is a legal advocacy group and the group which persuaded the Supreme Courts in Massachusetts and Connecticut to allow same-sex marriage in 2003 and 2008. The campaign has been working primarily through state legislatures, and looking towards the future the campaign sees this as a road map for the rest of the country in 2012.

Some same-sex marriage opponents initially doubted that there was enough support for legislatures to pass laws for same-sex marriage; doubters also saw how same-sex marriage previously only advanced through the judiciary. But within six months into the campaign, same-sex marriage laws were passed in three more states, which brought the total New England states with same-sex marriage to five out of the six. However, the law in Maine was repealed due to a people's veto, funded heavily by organizations from outside the state on November 3, 2009. Currently, only four of the six have legalized same-sex marriage, although in Rhode Island there is a proposed same-sex marriage bill in the legislatures that is planned to be introduced some time in 2011.

Massachusetts

Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 , was a landmark state appellate court case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S...

that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution

Massachusetts Constitution

The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. It was drafted by John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin during the...

to allow only opposite-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts became the sixth jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

in the world (after the Netherlands

Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands

Same-sex marriage has been legal in the Netherlands since 1 April 2001...

, Belgium

Same-sex marriage in Belgium

On June 1, 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage, with some restrictions. Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions...

, Ontario

Same-sex marriage in Ontario

The first legal same-sex marriages performed in Ontario were of Kevin Bourassa to Joe Varnell, and Elaine Vautour to Anne Vautour, by Rev. Brent Hawkes on January 14, 2001....

, British Columbia

Same-sex marriage in British Columbia

Same-sex marriage in British Columbia became legal on July 8, 2003, becoming the second region in Canada to legalize same-sex marriage, behind Ontario, after a series of court rulings which ultimately landed in favour of same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses.Canada became the fourth country in...

, and Quebec

Same-sex marriage in Quebec

On March 19, 2004, the Quebec Court of Appeals ruled similarly to the Ontario and B.C. courts, upholding Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec and ordering that it take effect immediately...

) to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the first U.S. state

U.S. state

to make same-sex marriages legal.

Connecticut

joined Massachusetts

Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts

as the second state

Same-sex marriage in the United States

The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...

in the U.S. to legally perform marriages of same-sex couples

Same-sex marriage

on November 12, 2008.

Vermont

In April 2009, Vermont legalized same sex marriage, and became the first state to do it through the legislature and not judicial review

Judicial review

Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...

. The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its "first-in-the-nation" civil unions law in 2000, which was the first place in the United States to extend full legal recognition to same-sex couples. (Several states and cities already had "domestic partnership" registries prior to this point.)

Maine

A bill to allow same-sex marriage in Maine was signed into law on May 6, 2009. Maine was the fifth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage, and the second to legislate it. The governor also became the first in the nation to sign a same-sex marriage bill that was not the result of a court decision (Vermont had been veto

Veto

A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...

ed by the governor and then overridden

Veto override

A veto override is an action by legislators and decision-makers to override an act of veto by someone with such powers - thus forcing through a new decision. The power to override a veto varies greatly in tandem with the veto power itself. The U.S constitution gives a 2/3 majority Congress the...

by the legislature).

However, while same-sex marriage was legalized in Maine, there was a people's veto and enough signatures were collected to place the referendum question on the November 3, 2009 statewide ballot. Maine voters narrowly approved the referendum and repealed the new marriage law.

New Hampshire

A bill legalizing same-sex marriage was signed on June 3, 2009. Same-sex marriages began on January 1, 2010. Civil unions began on January 1, 2008; legislation for full marriages rights began in March 2009.

Rhode Island

Same-sex marriage is not currently legal in the state of Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

; however, while several bills were introduced to the Rhode Island General Assembly

Rhode Island General Assembly

The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Senate with 38 senators...

in 2009 which would provide for same-sex marriages, the governor has promised to veto it, leading the 6x12 campaign and other same-sex marriage advocates to look towards 2011, when the Republican governor leaves office after a mandated term limit. Nevertheless, the odds against same-sex marriage in Rhode Island are considered rather higher than in the rest of New England, primarily on account of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. The state has taken a more conservative stance on several social issues in the past, including abortion

Abortion law

Abortion law is legislation and common law which pertains to the provision of abortion. Abortion has been a controversial subject in many societies through history because of the moral, ethical, practical, and political power issues that surround it. It has been banned frequently and otherwise...

Overview

Possible Reasons

By polling

By culture

"Six by Twelve" campaign

Massachusetts

Connecticut

Vermont

Maine

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

See also