# The next state to legalize same-sex marriage? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430 "2009-04-08T20:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/21 "2009-04-09T18:27:07Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > What about New York? It recognizes gay marriages in other states Not exactly. The governor ordered all courts and agencies _under the direct power of the executive_ to recognize out of state gay marriages. This would include regulatory and benefit agencies and administrative courts like the Workers Compensation Board; the Governor’s order does not affect the independent judicial system. New York’s highest Court has not ruled one way or the other on the issue (although they have ruled that New York’s Constitution does not require the state to recognize, permit, or forbid gay marriages, and stated it was a matter for the legislature). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/22 "2009-04-09T18:34:12Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Okay, who else finds this hilarious? Teh gheyz! NOM NOM NOM NOM! ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/23 "2009-04-09T19:32:23Z")
I really don’t mean to hijack this thread, honest. But I’d just like to point out that this disproves some peoples’ prejudice that anyone who is pro-gun must be anti-gay, since Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are some of the most pro-gun states. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/24 "2009-04-09T19:34:56Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > My money’s on NJ. There’s already been quite a move within the state towards benefits for same-sex partners, civil unions, etc, and the population does tend to skew a bit liberal. > > The day it happens will be the second day of my life when I will not feel the slightest shame in saying, “Yeah, I grew up there.” Go ahead, tell us about the first. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/25 "2009-04-09T19:40:51Z")
Probably when they abolished the death penalty. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/26 "2009-04-09T20:41:03Z")
Utah. Well, when three or more people are in a marriage, at least two of them must be the same sex, right? ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/27 "2009-04-09T21:17:39Z")
New Jersey has a shot. I bet it will happen this year after the November elections, whether Corzine wins reelection or not. Democrats have about a 60-40 share in both houses, so it has a decent chance of passing. I’ve written my state assemblymen and senator in support, and I recommend others do the same! ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/28 "2009-04-09T21:40:30Z")
I’m willing to bet that it will not be Texas. Nor Florida. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/29 "2009-04-09T23:23:15Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I’m willing to bet that it will not be Texas. Nor Florida. I always imagined Ohio would be the very last state to legalize gay marriage myself, or will be one forced to if the SCOTUS ever legalizes it. We have the strictest anti-SSM laws in the country as of 2004. There are some things I love about Ohio. Its stance on SSM ain’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/30 "2009-04-09T23:37:49Z")
> [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](#): > > I always imagined Ohio would be the very last state to legalize gay marriage myself, or will be one forced to if the SCOTUS ever legalizes it. We have the strictest anti-SSM laws in the country as of 2004… Put Mississippi in that category. It’s local “defence of marriage” amendment passed with 86% of the vote. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/31 "2009-04-10T00:49:53Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Okay, who else finds this hilarious? And they’ve organized a Rainbow Coalition to oppose gay marriage. A Rainbow Coalition. Satire is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/32 "2009-04-10T01:05:26Z")
> [@emmaliminal](#): > > How’s Maine doing? I saw it listed as one of the candidates somewhere, but can’t find that somewhere now. There is a public hearing on the bill on the 24th in Augusta. So, a vote could be coming soon after that. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/33 "2009-04-10T01:26:48Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > D.C. isn’t a state, obviously, but it’s expected to pass a same-sex marriage bill by this summer. (They unanimously passed a bill this week recognizing SSM’s from other jurisdictions.) However, D.C. is not in charge of its own fate; the federal government has a 30-day window to pass legislation blocking the enaction of D.C. laws. We’ll see what happens. > > –Cliffy Politically this is more subtle than it seems. By passing the bill to recognize SSM from states and to say they’re going to pass a SSM bill this summer they’re putting Congress on the spot. Congress can accede to the new bill and be seen to support SSM when they had the power to prevent it or they can move to strike down the bill and be on the record against it. As a political power play it’s brilliant in forcing a show of hands and building arguments for and against certain power players. And, I figure, there’s a little bit of ‘Fuck You, Congressional Republicans, for making statehood hinge on changing our gun laws. Fuck you hard. Twice. And now figure out how to vote on THIS, motherfuckers.’ Really, who knew the DC council had a set that big? Not I, and I lived there for 25 years or more. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/34 "2009-04-10T01:55:30Z")
Am I alone in hoping that this somehow guts traditional marriage as a state institution? One by one the states approve it and one by one marriage becomes the civil and personal thing it should have always been, and one day single folks will stop getting screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/35 "2009-04-10T02:06:27Z")
[Da 'Nois(e)!](http://www.niu.edu/PubAffairs/presskits/ips2005/marriagerights.html) We were the first state to decriminalize sodomy, after all, _ten years_ before any other state. [See para. 5 of this link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodomy_laws_in_the_United_States#History_of_US_law) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/36 "2009-04-10T05:17:41Z")
> [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](#): > > I always imagined Ohio would be the very last state to legalize gay marriage myself, or will be one forced to if the SCOTUS ever legalizes it. We have the strictest anti-SSM laws in the country as of 2004. Hah, as of 2006, my beloved home state of Wisconsin has been the worst. Although like many other states, Wisconsin has amended its constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, it goes one step beyond not recognizing such marriages. We also have a law from 1914, aimed at interracial marriages, that makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter any marriage in another state that would not be permissible in Wisconsin. Punishable up to nine months in jail or a $10,000 fine. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/37 "2009-04-10T16:26:44Z")
Double post. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/38 "2009-04-10T16:27:45Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I’m willing to bet that it will not be Texas. Nor Florida. Since Florida passed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage this past election 62% to 38%, I’m willing to bet you’re right. ☹ > [@](#): > > We also have a law from 1914, aimed at interracial marriages, that makes it a crime for Wisconsin residents to enter any marriage in another state that would not be permissible in Wisconsin. Punishable up to nine months in jail or a $10,000 fine. There’s no way that’s constitutional. Right? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/39 "2009-04-10T17:23:16Z")
We had a similar law in Massachusetts, and Romney dragged it out of obscurity to get some RW cred by using it to spite the gays. It had to be actively repealed - nobody could find a good reason to challenge its constitutionality. The political landscape in WI is undoubtedly a bit different, but perhaps a little time living with a neighbor state where the sky is not falling might change some minds there. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430/40 "2009-04-10T17:24:17Z")
Actually, the MA law wasn’t criminal, it just forbade the issuing of licenses to such couples. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-state-to-legalize-same-sex-marriage/492430.md?page=3)