Well, 2013 certainly has been one for the record books. We’ve won marriage equality in so many states now we’ve almost lost count. It’s 16 now, right? Or 17? Maybe we’ll add an surprise 18th in the next day or two?
It’s been a particularly busy year for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. At the beginning of 2013, the case against Prop. 8 hadn’t yet had argument before the US Supreme Court. And while we all knew the right way for the court to rule, it was far from clear that they would actually do so.
Well, now here it is a year later: the case went to the highest court in the land; they ruled; Prop. 8 evaporated; and marriages started up again in California.
But that’s not the end of things. Now AFER’s locked in a new federal fight, this time in Virginia. The arguments and the goal are the same: use the federal courts to win a ruling that marriage equality is protected by the US Constitution. Who knows, by this time next year we may have 50 states won.
kernelt
what a beautiful way to sum up the year 😀
AuntieChrist
A record year…! Oh My Goddess..!!! A few more decades and our second class status will be gone…Go team…Sorry… I have only been waiting 35 years since Harvey Milk was murdered…Oh that’s right everyone died and you were not born yet.
Ned_Flaherty
No, it’s not 16 states.
Or 17. Or 18.
It’s 19: CA, CT, DC, DE, HI, IA, IL, MA, MD, ME, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, RI, UT, VT, WA.
Map: http://www.marriageequality.org/national-map
hephaestion
It’s 18 plus the District of Columbia, which is not a state and which has no votes in the Congress or Senate.
brokeback gypsy
@AuntieChrist: Luckily you won’t have to wait “a few more decades” – maybe 1/4 of that at the most. Let’s hope that UT stays in our column. I want to say that i doubt the Supreme Court will take it up and therefore let the lower court stand. It certainly will help if more and more of our brothers and sisters make it to the courthouse ASAP. this has been a wonderful year – we have doubled the number of states in Marriage Equality. A nice end of a year for a long fight – but we have a ways to go still. Most of these were the ‘easy pickens’ states. A few more will join us on ballot measures in the upcoming 2 years, and then the rest will be by challenges to the laws and court rulings. BRING IT ON!
AuntieChrist
@brokeback gypsy: That’s very sweet.Thank you. I guess I’m just feeling out of sorts in the wake of Ms. Robertson and all of those nasty tweets dripping with venom and the F word.