States are falling for marriage equality. Which will be the last one standing?

[DonViejo]

History does not judge well the last people to end discrimination, and it's getting more and more difficult to stop doing the right thing

Steven W Thrasher
theguardian.com, Thursday 22 May 2014 07.30 EDT

States have been falling for marriage equality so fast this week it's hard to come up with the right analogy to express the speed. How fast have they been falling – like dominoes, in a parlor game with the rather high stakes of American civil rights? Like flies, dying in a swarm over the rotting carcass of discrimination?

Or like tears dripping from the face of National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown, whom I watched bawl his head off two years ago in the galley of the New York Senate, during the vote that made same-sex marriage legal in the Empire State?

Back in the summer of 2011, victories for same-sex marriage were few and far between. New York was only the seventh state to legalize it in seven years – and its passage was anything but certain. These days, equality bans aren't just falling every week; it seems that when enough cranky federal judges get tired of unconstitutional laws, we get multiple rulings in the same day.

When I started writing this article, Oregon was the 17th state to fall; in the middle of my draft, Pennsylvania became the 18th – the second in less than 24 hours, and the fourth federal decision for marriage equality (rendered by judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents) in just the last month.

more
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/22/states-gay-marriage-equality-laws-last-one-standing

[gollygee]

1. Who knows

I might have said Utah once upon a time.

[Sheepshank]

2. yup...a complete surprise that it won't be Utah n/t

[DonViejo]

3. I'm guessing Alabama will be the last one standing. eom

[onehandle]

4. We were talking about this at Drinking Liberally the other night.

My vote was Mississippi. Alabama a close second.

[PeaceNikki]

5. Wisconsin

[whatthehey]

6. IMO it will be federally decided long before many states are willing to change.

Almost all the "Republican L" will still be banning s-s marriage when the SCOTUS finally gets around to deciding this on equal protection grounds. There will be no 40th, 41st etc state to recognze equal marriage. Just 20 somethingth then all.

[TlalocW]

7. If courts at a federal level don't just sweep marriage equality in

But it goes state-by-state, my money is on Mississippi.

Also, the fact that the NOM president cried like a baby makes me smile. Is that wrong? Oh, who cares if it is.

TlalocW

[MuseRider]

8. Kansas

with one court it would cause more problems and likely throw up more roadblocks. With the other court it is iffy but possible. Take a chance? Not now, not yet. I wager we will be the last one standing but would LOVE to be proved wrong.

* I am not involved in this part of things, this is what I have been told by those who are working this issue so I can not provide any more info because I do not have it.

[Jefferson23]

10. I agree with you, it will likely be Kansas. n/t

[countryjake]

11. That was my guess, too, with Mississippi running a close second.

Hopefully, it shouldn't be long now before we learn which state will be the "last". I doubt that that's a distinction any state wants to be stuck with, honestly.

[MuseRider]

12. Oh yes they do.

Kansas would be proud to have that distinction, at least right now they would. We will see.

Topeka just passed a Domestic Partner Registry and added gender identification to the protected classes in city hiring. It took many years and 3 tries to get this but we did finally get it.

The Koch brothers live here and house their corporations here. It is in their best interests to keep the people stirred up and emotionally reacting without the chance to hear what is actually going on. They come to our legislature when there are important votes just to make sure they keep the righties in line. They meddle way down into the smallest things. You would not believe the things the anti DPR and adding GI into the policy were saying. They could not have hit the actual topics if we had given them a week.

At this point Kansas would wear the mark of bigotry with much pride. Sad to say. It will take a while to get back to some normalcy if that is even possible at this point.

[countryjake]

13. You're probably right.

And that is sad.

I have some particularly hard-nosed friends from there (or I used to, lost track of them now) who actually did grow ashamed of their bigotry and began to understand that legislation prohibiting a basic human right for some was outrageous. Personal, face-to-face experiences with people like that do give me hope. But I hear you.

[opiate69]

9. I have to think Oklahoma.

[Delphinus]

14. I guess Indiana.

I've heard too many reasons ...