Marriage equality sweeps the election!
Posted: 08 Nov 2012 06:41 am
So for those of you that missed it (...somehow XD) the US had a pretty big election yesterday. Not only did Obama get elected for another four years (WHOO), but there were four major, major bills for equality that people were voting on:
In Maine, Maryland, and Washington, the vote to legalize gay marriage was on the ballot
In Minnesota, the vote to define gay marriage as between a man and a woman and ban gay marriage was on the ballot.
They've been called "The Four" for the past few months, and obviously it's been a Pretty Big Deal.
So after 24 hours of nail biting nerves, I am really, REALLY happy to say that the first three issues all PASSED in their states, and the last issue was REJECTED in Minnesota!
This is a -major- win for equality in America. This is the first time that a referendum involving marriage has been on the ballot where it was -passed- by the people -- and passed (or in Minnesota's case, rejected!) in FOUR states is just an unbelievable victory.
We were the last to find out here in Washington -- we are a vote-by-mail state, so last night enough of the ballots weren't in yet. I went to bed with it winning 52%/48%, and this afternoon we finally got the official announcement - Ref 74 was the last of the Big Four to win marriage equality!
(This naturally means Lindsey and I will be getting OFFICIALLY married! Many of you already know we had a commitment ceremony back in 2008 [dear god 4 years ago], and it's SO exciting to finally be wife-and-wife legally. We'll be able to fix my insurance, which right now takes a LARGE chunk out of my paycheck cause Lindsey's benefits get taken out separate from mine post-taxes), we'll be able to file our taxes together, we'll have right/power of attorney to each other... basically it opens a LOT of new opportunities and rights to us, ones we don't even get with Washington's Civil Unions. SO EXCITED)
In Maine, Maryland, and Washington, the vote to legalize gay marriage was on the ballot
In Minnesota, the vote to define gay marriage as between a man and a woman and ban gay marriage was on the ballot.
They've been called "The Four" for the past few months, and obviously it's been a Pretty Big Deal.
So after 24 hours of nail biting nerves, I am really, REALLY happy to say that the first three issues all PASSED in their states, and the last issue was REJECTED in Minnesota!
This is a -major- win for equality in America. This is the first time that a referendum involving marriage has been on the ballot where it was -passed- by the people -- and passed (or in Minnesota's case, rejected!) in FOUR states is just an unbelievable victory.
We were the last to find out here in Washington -- we are a vote-by-mail state, so last night enough of the ballots weren't in yet. I went to bed with it winning 52%/48%, and this afternoon we finally got the official announcement - Ref 74 was the last of the Big Four to win marriage equality!
(This naturally means Lindsey and I will be getting OFFICIALLY married! Many of you already know we had a commitment ceremony back in 2008 [dear god 4 years ago], and it's SO exciting to finally be wife-and-wife legally. We'll be able to fix my insurance, which right now takes a LARGE chunk out of my paycheck cause Lindsey's benefits get taken out separate from mine post-taxes), we'll be able to file our taxes together, we'll have right/power of attorney to each other... basically it opens a LOT of new opportunities and rights to us, ones we don't even get with Washington's Civil Unions. SO EXCITED)