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With just days left in the year, lawmakers in two states are making last-minute bids
to pass marriage equality bills. A hugely successful campaign is culminating in Oregon.
And support for an anti-gay amendment in Indiana is quickly crumbling.
At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume, and welcome to Marriage News
Watch for December 17, 2012.
There may be just a few weeks left in the year, but some state legislators are still
trying to make the most of what's already been the busiest year in history for the freedom
to marry.
In New Jersey, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora has started the process to put marriage equality
on the ballot. This means that there are now three separate tracks for marriage in that
state. There's a lawsuit that's proceeding through Superior Court. There's a bill that
passed the legislature before getting a veto from Governor Christie. And now there's a
ballot measure that may go before voters.
Voters may not need to weigh in marriage if legislators can shore up enough votes to override
Christie's veto. But if it does come to a vote, our chances are pretty good: A Quinnipiac
survey from last February showed 57% favor marriage equality and 37% oppose.
Lawmakers are also counting the votes in Illinois. Senator Heather Steans and Representative
Greg Harris plan to introduce a bill to legalize marriage before the new legislative sessions
starts on January 9th. Governor Patrick Quinn says he'll sign the bill if it makes it to
his desk.
There's no firm plan in Oregon to push for a bill or ballot measure, but new polling
numbers show that public outreach over the last few years has been a huge success. Fifty
four percent of voters now favor marriage equality, according to Public Policy Polling.
That's up from 46% in the same survey last July, and 43 percent in June of 2011.
There's encouraging data in Indiana, too. Voters there will likely face an anti-gay
constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2013 or 2014. But a new survey from Ball State
University shows 54 percent oppose the amendment, with just 38% in favor.
Those are the headlines. Subscribe here on YouTube and AFER.org to stay up to date on
all the year-end marriage news. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume.
We'll see you next week.