Special Rights

A protest sign that has been making the rounds…



A while back I wrote about Henry and Josh. Henry is not an American citizen and deportation proceedings had begun. Obama's refusal to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court (though he will still enforce it) put a wrinkle in Henry's case and others like it. It was getting down to the wire when Henry's hearing was postponed. The latest news is that deportation proceedings have been dropped entirely.



The Rhode Island legislature has passed a civil unions bill and sent it on to governor Lincoln Chaffee. All of the gay organizations are urging him not to sign it. The problem is exemptions for religious organizations. New York (just last week!) affirmed that a religious institution did not have to take part in a gay wedding or reception. Rhode Island took one more step. It is one thing for a church to say they won't officiate at a civil union ceremony. It is quite another for them to have the right to refuse to acknowledge the civil union. For example, a religious hospital can deny partner visitation. That has left gay groups wondering why do religious groups get special rights? And to think Fundies still accuse us of wanting special rights when we want government recognition of our relationships. Besides, the states around RI have full marriage equality and RI will recognize those marriages. Why not home grown equality?



Even with that disappointment in RI, we have made a lot of gains in just the last six months -- full marriage equality in New York and civil unions in Hawaii, Delaware, and Rhode Island. We now have six states, plus DC, with full gay marriage, five states with equivalent civil unions, another four with equivalent domestic partnerships, and another four with limited relationships. See the map here. It might look squished if your browser isn't at full screen.