A new ABCNEWS/Washington Post survey has some good news: only 38% of Americans favor amending the U.S. Constitution to make it illegal for same-sex couples to marry, while 58% say, instead, that each state should make its own laws on gay marriage. If history is any guide, a proposed constitutional amendment that can't even get a majority of popular support is doomed.
But States Go Crazy.
On the other hand, some states seem to be reacting to the prospects of gay marriage in Massachusetts with total dementia. Ohio's legislature has just passed a bill that would not only prohibit same-sex marriage, but also forbid the state from granting domestic partner benefits to its employees. Gov. Bob Taft said he will sign it, pending legal review.
In Virginia, a House panel unanimously passed a resolution
Wednesday urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment
against gay marriages. But a bill to
impeach Virginia judges if they were to rule in favor of
same-sex marriage was defeated. How charitable.