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Slideshow: Gay couples get married in Washington

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 17:47:00 +0000

On Thursday, Washington state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, after voters legalized it on Election Day. More than 800 couples lined up to get married yesterday, beginning at midnight the night before. Here are pictures from throughout the state, inspired by a tweet from @PourMeCoffee.

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Rahm Emanuel pushes for Illinois gay marriage

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 18:47:00 +0000

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says that “the time is right” for Illinois to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, and called for it to be a priority in the state.

The election “continued America’s great history of expanding opportunity and equality,” Emanuel wrote in a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Today, we must take the next step on that journey by affording the opportunity to marry to all Americans — and we can continue that march by quickly enacting marriage equality here in Illinois.”

The Advocate reports:

In Illinois, a marriage equality bill was introduced in February by the state’s three openly gay legislators (there will be a fourth in the next term). Gov. Pat Quinn, also a Democrat, has made it clear he supports such a measure. The Democrats have a majority of seats in both the state Senate and House, and in the next term, beginning in January, will have supermajorities.

All these factors would appear to bode well for the bill, and there has been speculation that a vote on it could come before the end of this year. Emanuel, however, declined to predict when the legislature might take it up or if it would pass. He said he simply wants to ensure marriage equality won’t get lost in the shuffle amid the state’s financial and other challenges, and he thinks it will unless someone makes it a priority.

What’s next for pot policy?

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:24:00 +0000

The election results this week from Washington, Colorado, Massachusetts and Arkansas demonstrate that public opinion about cannabis has moved much faster than the positions of elected officials. That Massachusetts voters would pass a fairly loosely regulated medical marijuana system isn’t very surprising. But that voters in Arkansas came within a whisker of passing one shows that it isn’t just a hippie-dippie issue anymore. And for Colorado and Washington to take the plunge into full legalization – not just of use or for medical purposes, but full-scale commercial growing and sales – marks an epoch.

There are two “What next?” questions: What happens at the ballot box two or four years from now? And what happens in Colorado and Washington over the next year or two? Neither question has a clear answer, but the political developments may be easier to forecast than the operational ones.

Ballot measures: A rundown of results

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:45:00 +0000

Voters around the country weighed in Tuesday on a cornucopia of ballot measures, offering a partial insight into the state of opinion around the nation on issues ranging from genetically modified foods to the death penalty.

Racist language to remain in Alabama Constitution -- but perhaps with good reason:

Alabama voted against a measure to remove references to segregation in its state Constitution, which includes the line, “separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children.” Amendment 4 would have removed the racist language, but, its opponents argued, it carried with it a series of other, largely tax-based contentions. As the New York Times reported in advance of the vote: