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Gay Rights: Gay Marriages
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Spousal benefits, such as health insurance and pension plans for long-term domestic partners, and the legal recognition of same-sex couples (“gay marriages”) ... became important gay-rights issues in the 1990s. A number of American corporations now offer same-sex partners of employees medical benefits comparable to those offered to employees' spouses; about one fifth of all workers are employed by these businesses. However, beginning in the mid-1990s, many states began explicitly banning same-sex marriages; by 2005, 41 states had done so. The Vermont supreme court declared in 1999 that the state must grant homosexual couples the same rights and protections that married heterosexuals have, and in 2000 the state legislature backed “civil unions” for same-sex couples that offer many benefits similar to those of heterosexual marriage. In 2003, Massachusetts' highest court ruled that homosexual couples have the constitutional right to marry, and the state began issuing licenses for same-sex marriages in May, 2004. The state legislature meanwhile passed a constitutional amendment that would have created civil unions for homosexual couples while restricting marriage to heterosexuals, but that amendment failed to win legislative approval in a required second, consecutive vote in 2005. At the same time, however, in 11 states voters approved (Nov., 2004) state constitutional amendments restricting marriage to a man and a woman and in some cases also banning same-sex civil unions; more than 20 states now have such amendments.
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Gay rights and gay marriage are central battles in America's culture wars for two reasons. First, the growing acceptance of homosexuality is a direct threat to the domination of traditional Christian norms for sex and sexuality. Second, marriage is not only an important cultural symbol, but an example of how heterosexuals are privileged — and heterosexual privilege is one of the few remaining unjust social privileging systems in America.
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Hillary Clinton and Gay Marriage: Some gay and lesbian voters don't feel like Hillary Clinton has done enough to support gay and lesbian rights, while others believe she is the best candidate for gay and lesbian issues. Clinton opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions between members of the same sex.
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[T]he battle lines blurred Monday, when a coalition of religious groups rallied in Olympia demanding gay rights and gay marriage. They asked lawmakers to support House Bill 2661 and oppose any attempt to outlaw gay marriage if the high court rules the 1998 law unconstitutional but kicks the issue back to the Legislature for a remedy.
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The Web site accuses Topinka of holding "extremely liberal values" more in line with Democrats than Republicans because she supports abortion and gay rights. One photograph purports to show Topinka, the state's treasurer, posing with gay marriage supporters.
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During last week's historic gay debate, Hillary Clinton dredged up the old states rights argument when justifying her opposition to gay marriage. Apparently she thinks that the second class citizenship of gays and lesbians is a matter for the states to decide.
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