Iowa Poll: Majority opposes ban on same-sex marriage | The Des Moines Register | DesMoinesRegister.com

In Iowa, Republican state legislators are trying to force through a constitutional amendment by public ballot to overturn the 2009 court decision that provided for gay marriage - but most Iowans are against the idea:

Iowa Poll: Majority opposes ban on same-sex marriage

"A majority of Iowans oppose passage of a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows.

The poll found that 38 percent favor a legislative initiative to pass a constitutional amendment, while 56 percent are against. Six percent aren’t sure.

The findings show little movement on the issue from February 2011, when 40 percent of those surveyed supported passing an amendment, while 54 percent were opposed."

 The Des Moines Register

Marriage equality is here to stay, in Iowa. The proposed ballot has passed in the house, but is stalled in the state Senate, where the Democrats have a narrow majority, and the Senate president won't even consider introducing it. Even if it is introduced and passed, that will not end it. It will need to be passed again, in both houses, in the next legislative session, 2013 - 2014. With public opinion turning against them, even some GOP senators may well turn against a public vote, just as they are currently doing in New Hampshire. 

Then - they still have to win the balllot. If public opinion is against overturn now, that will be even more true in another two years.

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Elections official resigns over gay marriage ban

The elections director in socially conservative Harnett County has resigned, saying she could not in good conscience preside over the upcoming vote on a proposed amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage.

Sherre Toler says her romantic relationship with a man of a different race cemented her belief that the civil rights of couples in love should not be put to a popular vote.

Elections workers are discouraged from expressing personal opinions about issues on the ballot so that they don't feed a perception that those counting the votes are biased. The 51-year-old registered Democrat had the job 11 years.

Toler told The Associated Press her Jan. 3 resignation will enable her to speak out about an issue she is passionate about and work with groups seeking to defeat the May referendum.

-Sacramento News

Same-sex marriage gains steam on U Maine campus

"Supporters of a citizens’ initiative proposing a law allowing same-sex couples to marry in the state of Maine will be on campus full-force during the upcoming months.

Volunteers and supporters aim to collect, by this November, the needed 57,277 signatures required to put the initiative on the November 2012 ballot.

Members of Equality Maine will collect signatures in and around the Memorial Union at the University of Maine, as well as at upcoming campus events, in an attempt to finish collecting signatures before the holiday season picks up.

“[UMaine] is a good place to get a lot of support. And this is support that we really need,” said Equality Maine volunteer David Cox, a technician at UMaine’s DNA Sequencing Facility. “We need to talk to everybody to get their signatures.”"

-read more at Maine Campus

State fair polls: No to gay marriage ban!

The Minnesota State Fair is officially over and the results of the annual House and Senate polls are in.

Both chambers had record numbers of participants this year, with upwards of 12,500 fair-goers stopping in at the House booth to take the survey, and nearly 8,500 people participating in the Senate’s unscientific poll.

Some of the more notable results in the House: 66.5 percent said that the state should not amend the constitution to ban gay marriage, while 29.8 said it should be changed. A photo identification requirement at the polls won the favor of 50.8 percent of state fair participants, while 46.4 percent of people did not support the legislation. That’s a considerable drop from support in years past, when the bill approached 70 percent approval from poll participants."

-read more at Politics in Minnesota

Calif gay history referendum facing uphill battle?

The really intriguing element in this report is that the Catholic and Mormon churches have not (yet) lent any financial or organizational support to this anti-gay initiative, and that this lack of church support could sink the attempt. If so, it corroborates the evidence from elsewhere that they are likely to be less enthusiastic than in 2008 and 2009 to dive into the marriage ballots come November 2012 - and that is good news for the forces fighting for marriage and equality. 

"Organizers of the Stop SB48 campaign— Senate Bill 48 was the law approved by the California Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in July — are telling would-be voters the new mandate would inappropriately expose young children to sex, infringe on parental rights and silence religion-based criticisms of homosexuality. Those are talking points successfully used by proponents of Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in California.

But so far, Mormon and Catholic church leaders and conservative groups who spearheaded the Proposition 8 campaign have not joined the effort to qualify the gay history referendum for the June 2012 ballot, leaving less-experienced Christian conservatives to lead the charge without the organizational prowess and funding to hire paid signature gatherers."

-The Associated Press:

Independence Party to campaign against Minnesota anti–gay marriage amendment

 "The Independence Party of Minnesota, one of three political parties in Minnesota with major party status, announced on Tuesday that it is joining the campaign to defeat a ballot measure that would place a ban on marriage for same-sex couples in the Minnesota Constitution if passed by the voters in 2012. The party announced shortly after the Minnesota Legislature passed the ballot initiative that it opposed the amendment, but the new announcement means party activists will actively campaign against the measure.

“Our platform declares that ‘We oppose having the government impose state-sponsored morality or values on people of good conscience with differing views,” chair Mark Jenkins said in a statement. “This is a perfect example.”

Minnesota Independent

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