The Blend has just received findings from a Columbia University study on support for marriage equality, the divide between public support for LGBT rights, and the lag in legal protections and rights extended to date.
Media contact: Tanya Domi, 212-854-5579, td207@columbia.edu
Analysis of Polling Data Finds Growing
Support for Same-Sex Marriage
Study also finds that legal rights and protections lag behind public opinion
According to a comprehensive new analysis of public opinion surveys conducted over the last 15 years, support for the legalization of same-sex marriage has grown substantially in the United States. Among other conclusions, two political science professors at Columbia University found reluctance among state and local policymakers to expand equal rights laws and protections even where majorities of voters support them.
The state-by-state analysis of polling data, titled Gay Rights in the States: Public Opinion and Policy Responsiveness, tracks trends over time on eight policies affecti ng gay and lesbian rights: same-sex marriage, civil unions, employment non-discrimination, housing non-discrimination, hate crimes, second-parent adoption, health benefits for same-sex partners and sodomy laws.
The peer-reviewed findings of Jeffrey R. Lax and Justin H. Phillips will be published this August in the American Political Science Review.
“The most important predictor of whether a state has a particular policy protecting the rights of gays and lesbians is public opinion,” said Phillips. “Public support for a policy matters far more than how liberal the voters or government officials are in general. For same-sex marriage, majority support seems sufficient for it to be adopted.”
Lax elaborates on why strong supportive public opinion is critical.
“Majority support for a policy isn’t always enough. You often need supermajority support,” said Lax. “Politicians and policy makers are lagging far behind the public’s support on a number of key gay rights policies that are currently being debated across the U.S., particularly housing and employment protection, but even including civil unions.”
According to the analysis, the growth in support of gay rights is accelerating. Roughly half of the change in support nationwide has occurred in the last four years alone. Majorities now support same-sex marriage in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Of these, only New York and Rhode Island have not yet legalized same-sex marriage. New York Gov. David A. Paterson, however, has announced his support on the issue and his intention to advocate for legislation this fall.
While support for same-sex marriage is growing in all 50 states, polarization between the so-called red states and blue states is becoming more pronounced. (For the purposes of their analysis, Lax and Phillips define red states as those won by George Bush in the 2000 election for president and blues states as those won by Al Gore).
The difference in support for same-sex marriage between red states and blue states has nearly doubled in the last 12 years. Since 2004, support for same-sex marriage in blue states grew twice as much as in red states--an increase of eight points versus four points. Since 1994, support in blue states increased by 18 points versus 10 points in red states.
It continues below the fold.
The difference in support for same-sex marriage between red states and blue states has nearly doubled in the last 12 years. Since 2004, support for same-sex marriage in blue states grew twice as much as in red states--an increase of eight points versus four points. Since 1994, support in blue states increased by 18 points versus 10 points in red states.
“In our analysis of persons 18 to 29 years old, roughly 38 states have majorities explicitly favoring same-sex marriage,” said Lax. “Generational change alone could lead to same-sex marriage rights across most of the country.”
And this is interesting:
Other findings of the study:
* The more media coverag e a policy gets, the more likely it is to match majority public opinion. For example, media coverage of same-sex marriage and civil unions is far greater than coverage of job and housing non-discrimination. This increased visibility leads to increased congruence with opinion majorities.
* Of the 25 states with legislative majorities explicitly favoring civil unions, only 12 allow them. No state has legalized civil unions where majorities oppose them.
* Many states have not adopted housing and employment non-discrimination policies despite the fact that large majorities support them. Only 20 states have adopted such protections.
* Interest groups and voters opposed to marriage equality and other non-discrimination policies have influence far beyond their relative share of a state’s population. They can block equality measures even when then there is a significant majority favoring them.
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
Last week, it seemed that I had a Paul Cameron fixation.
This week may be shaping up to feature anti-gay figure Peter LaBarbera.
Last night, I talked about how he channeled a Paul Cameron factoid (i.e. lie) about homosexuality being more dangerous than cigarettes.
But what he did today takes the cake. I simply could not pass it by.
LaBarbera is known for going to subcultural leather events, taking pictures of the activities there, and posting them on his webpage in an attempt to generalize about the entire lgbt community.
That's why he is known as "Porno Petey" in some circles.
Far be it from him to disappoint us this year. He has just posted pictures from what is called "Up Your Alley," a street fair in San Francisco. LaBarbera made a point to post lots of pictures of naked folks and others engaged in lewd acts.
And included is his commentary about those "nasty homosexuals." This is a supposed acount of acts from a Americans For Truth volunteer who took pictures at the Fair:
As with previous sadistic street fairs, police non-enforcement was so lax that deviant, homosexual sex acts were allowed to go on in the streets as fair attendees passed on by. In his 50-minute stint, Ron photographed two oral sex acts at Up Your Alley - one in which a man “serviced” two men in uniforms, and the other involving two men engaged in fellatio directly in front of a bo oth. No action by either the police or a private “Folsom Security” staffer was taken against the law-breakers . . .
There is just one problem as I see it. Amidst the pictures is one that stands out - a naked heterosexual couple (don't click on this link if you have a low tolerance for grossness).
So why is this significant? Well to me, it underlines LaBarbera's anti-gay bias.
Look, I am by no means defending how folks behave at these street fairs but as I understand it, this event includes more than gay men walking around nude. As the picture I mentioned demonstrates, there were obviously some heterosexuals there acting unprincipled.
But yet instead of making a possible good point about lewdneewdness in general, LaBarbera's commentary omits the heterosexual couple and goes straight for the gay jugular.
I've never been to one of these events and don't plan to go anytime soon. But fair is fair. And LaBarbera's attempts to attack gays for their behavior while giving heterosexuals a pass for the possible same behavior says more about him than it does about the people whose pictures are posted on his webpage.
"There can be few greater thrills for a genuine dog lover than to take a homeless dog off of life's refuse pile, add love and care, and then see that dog, like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, become the great dog it was meant to be. Training such a rescued dog may require a little more time, a little more patience, and a little more skill, but the end result is a dog that has been given back its life. A dog owner can ask for no better companion."
-- Joe Stahlkuppe, Training Your Pit Bull
Dog lover that I am, there was one blog headline that caught my eye after seeing the news that Michael Vick is no longer persona non grata in the NFL:
Dog Killer Michael Vick Reinstated by Braindead NFL.
Sick, depraved dog killer, Michael Vick was reinstated by NFL co NFL commissioner Roger Goodell today. Goodell’s braindead decision allows Vick to participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings. He can also play in final two preseason games if he can find a team dumb enough to sign him. A number of teams — including the New York Giants and New York Jets, have already said they have absolutely no interest in signing the disgraced, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after Vick admitted bankrolling the “Bad Newz Kennels” dogfighting operation located on his sprawling Virginia estate. He plead guilty after three co-defendants testified to gruesome details of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground.
Vick spent 18 months in lock-up in a Leavenworth, KS prison after being convicted on federal charges of animal cruelty charges, He served the last five months of his 23-month sentence under house at his Hampton, Virginia estate. A timeline of this sorry tale is here.
So, he's paid his official debt to society for an abominable crime; should he be given a clean slate? According to this Q&A about the conditions of his release and reinstatement published in USAToday:
Q: What are some of the life-management conditions that Vick must comply with?
A: The meat of these are already covered in the terms of Vick's three-year probation. He can't commit other crimes, possess a firearm, or use drugs or alcohol. There are also limits on whom Vick can associate with. And, of course, he can't own, possess or be involved with the sale of any dog.
Q: Beyond showing remorse, what else did Vick do to help his case with Goodell?
A: He submitted a written plan that outlined proposed living arrangements, financial management (including what's contained in his bankruptcy proceedings), counseling and mentoring goals, and work with the Humane Society. Said Goodell, "I'm going to hold him accountable to his life-management plan."
His agent is also announcing some damage control measures Vick plans to atone for the QB's mutilation and killing of dogs for fun and profit:
Michael Vick's agent, Joel Segal, said today that Vick plans to address and atone for his involvement in dogfighting publicly. He said on the NFL Network that Vick intends to make an apology to animal lovers and dog lovers who were offended by his role financing a dogfighting operation.
Segal said Vick will appear publicly to speak "sooner than later, very soon." He did not give specifics on what forum Vick would use.
..."He's really remorseful," Segal told the NFLN. "He feels bad about what happened to the animals."
Well, sh*t, what else is he going to say -- "I'm sorry I got caught with the carcasses in my yard and you found out I beat, shot, hanged, electrocuted and drowned my dogs that didn't fight"? Whether this will be good enough for NFL teams sniffing around to see if adding Vick to their roster is a plus or a minus, is open to question; it depends on your POV. The Falcons and other teams have said they have no interest in associating with Vick's image as a dog killer, however, how many times have we seen sports teams forgive and forget top players convicted of rape or domestic abuse of women? I seriously doubt Vick will go unemployed for long. If his arm is good and he's otherwise in shape, the almighty dollar will speak for itself.
Q of the day: Has Vick earned a second chance?
***
Sports Illustrated did a cover story (December 29, 2008) "The Healing Touch: What happened to Michael Vick's dogs?" on the ones that survived their stay at Vick's torture farm. Here's some video from Best Friends of the dogs trip to rehab. They were featured on NatGeo's Dogtown program.
UPDATE: More below the fold, including a fantastic new law protecting pets hitting the NC governor's desk and two unbelievable examples of animal cruelty in the news today.
In news related to how much our pets do matter, North Carolina's legislature has overwhelmingly passed a bill (that Gov. Bev Perdue will sign) that an abusive spouse will be held accountable for cruelty to a pet of the abused spouse.
A magistrate can direct how family pets will be cared for as part of a domestic violence restraining order in legislation heading to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk. The House approved 104-7 in favor of the Senate bill that makes clear the magistrate has the authority to demand the abusive spouse who is the subject of the order doesn't treat cruelly a cat, dog or other domesticated animal held by either spouse or a child. The pet also could be placed Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, D-Wilson, said the bill will help give battered women more confidence to leave abusive situations if they know their pets will be taken care of or protected outside the home. Rep. Ronnie Sutton, D-Robeson, was one of a few lawmakers who questioned whether legislators were placing too much attention on pets instead of humans in these situations.And another story, from Connecticut, shows how seriously depraved humans can be regarding animal fighting -- what sicko would run a canary fighting ring?!
But wait, there's more, again in Connecticut at the home of Edward and Stacey Tighe:Animal experts were stunned by the Sunday arrest of 19 men in Shelton, charged with organizing a bird-fighting ring using saffron finches and canaries, small yellow songbirds commonly kept as pets. Roughly 150 birds, mostly saffron finches, and $8,000 in cash were seized during the raid on the Ripton Road ranch house. The men taken into custody face charges of cruelty to animals and illegal gambling.
Shelton Police Sgt. Robert Kozlowsky said Monday at least four of the birds have eye injuries. Most of the birds are saffron finches, and not canaries as initially announced by police, following a closer inspection Monday. The birThe birds are in the custody of the state Department of Agriculture. Wayne Kasacek, assistant director of the department's Bureau of Regulation and Inspection, wouldn't say where the birds are being held. He also said the eventual fate of the creatures has yet to be determined, though it's likely the injured birds will be euthanized.
Kasacek said this is the first time he has dealt with a bird-fighting operation of that kind that is alleged. "This is uncharted territory," he said. "Up until now, this was not very common. It came as a complete surprise to us."
Animal control officers seized 17 rabbits from an Edison Road home last Tuesday, and now there are 20 at the shelter. "We are inundated with rabbits," said Animal Control Officer Lynn DellaBianca. "We took in 17 and then we got three babies."...Police said a putrid smell was emanating from the basement and when they checked for its source, they found a rotting rabbit carcass in a cardboard box. Checking another room in the basement, officers began to investigate what appeared to be a pile of cloth stuffing only to see, on closer inspection, rabbit bones sticking out of the pile, police said. Police said rabbit feces covered the first floor of the home. Written next to a large hole cut in the wall was, "Kyle was here," a reference to the couple's teenage son, police said.
Related:
* Reader reaction to my 'Fighting pet prejudice' column in the Durham News
* Rapper DMX faces time in the clink for animal cruelty
***
How can people automatically assume a dog is an evil man or dog killer based solely on its breed? The American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier and Bull Terrier are often targets of breed-specific legislation and discrimination. It is people like Michael Vick, who foment fear and hatred of these breeds by breeding them and training them to kill one another. The misinformation results in shelters full of pit bulls that will never be adopted. The APBT in particular is among the least human-aggressive breeds, but it can be dog-aggressive if not socialized correctly from puppyhood. Even so, the terrible reputation spawned by the behavior of Vick and his friends who used these dogs for betting and entertainment and treated them like trash, only stoke the fear. That fear I had to overcome when Kate and I chose to meet Casey at the Wake SPCA. She was, by far, the friendliest dog we spent time with. And she loves other dogs and today is one of the most popular playmates at dog day care, so safe that she's been out in group play with the geriatric dogs!
The lesson -- don't buy the hype, but always read up on any breed that you're interested in.
www.GayTalkRadio.org
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