Salon.com > Andy Birkey

Should churches be used as polling spots?

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:00:00 +0000

In South Saint Paul, Minn., on Election Day, residents showed up at St. John Vianney Catholic Church to vote and were greeted with a banner outside the polling place entrance that read, “Strengthen Marriage, Don’t Redefine It.”

Minnesota was voting on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, and the Catholic Church had been the most vocal proponent of the ballot measure.

Voters snapped photos of the banner, which quickly gained attention on Twitter and Facebook.

Ivan Kowalenko took one of those photos. He told Minnesota Public Radio, “I was shocked, I didn’t think that would be allowed. I was hearing that you’re not allowed to wear any political slogan of your own, so it doesn’t seem entirely appropriate that a voting venue would be allowed to express an opinion.”

At a separate polling place at St. Joseph’s Church in West St. Paul, Stephanie Weiss was waiting in line to vote, and she noticed a sign posted to the wall. It was a prayer, written by Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt, that urged Catholics to defend God’s plan for marriage — between one man and one woman.

Ending jury discrimination: For once, both parties agree

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 23:30:00 +0000

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would bar discrimination on federal juries on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

That bill follows an investigation by The American Independent in May that detailed instances where LGBT people may have been discriminated against during jury selection in both state and federal cases.

The bill was introduced on Sept. 21 by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, and is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

“Discriminating against a potential juror because of sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable, and it should not be tolerated,” Shaheen said in a statement announcing the bill. “Our country is founded on principles of inclusion and acceptance and the jury selection process should be no different.”

Minnesota’s attack on gay marriage

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:42:00 +0000

A controversial study on parenting has become a focal point of the campaign in Minnesota to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage this November.

Conducted by University of Texas sociologist Mark Regnerus, the New Family Structures Study has been used by opponents of same-sex marriage to suggest that the children of same-sex couples fare poorly on a number of issues including relationships, abuse, and poverty.

But that’s not what the study actually says. Regnerus’ study compared children from families headed by married, heterosexual parents to children who were raised in families where one parent had a same-sex relationship at some point. The vast majority of the children whose parents had a same-sex relationship were either born out of wedlock or came from a “traditional family” that experienced a divorce. Critics say that comparison is unfair because it compares broken homes to married ones.