It is well known that the southern US has opposed same sex marriage (the states in dark red in the picture below) in the past but with the large amount of States passing gay marriage bills now, the question arises as to if and when these southern States will continue with the gay marriage bandwagon.
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in the United States
Same-sex marriage◊
Unions granting rights similar to marriage†
Legislation granting limited/enumerated rights
Same-sex marriages performed elsewhere recognized‡
No specific prohibition or recognition of same-sex marriages or unions in state law
State statute bans same-sex marriage
State constitution bans same-sex marriage
State constitution bans same-sex marriage and some or all other kinds of same-sex unions
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, is well known for his anti gay marriage views and seems to represent a majority of the beliefs of the state of Texas. Recently, he was quoted saying, "And that's the great thing about our Constitution, is different states can make different decisions depending on the values of their citizens."
To me, Ted Cruz seems very passive aggressive in this quote and that shows he really doesn't even consider gay marriage a remote possibility to pass. As a Senator he has a lot of power into the the way in which the public views certain issues and in this instance, he is the public a very radical view against gay marriage. His use of the word, "values" really stuck out to me because although many different people have many different views, Cruz is implying that many Texas natives agree with what he is saying. Maybe they do and maybe they don't but by saying this Cruz is speaking for the state of Texas without the voices of his residents heard.
Gay Marriage is a heavily debated issue in the US in these days, but some States have agreed to allow gay marriage pass in upcoming months. There still seems to be a lack of unity throughout the US as some states are not even close to passing gay marriage.
When do you think gay marriage will be officially legal in all 50 states?
4 comments:
First off, I think the quote spoken by Ted Cruz was really interesting. It seems to me as if Cruz is saying, it's a good thing other states can make different choices then us, because I would never do that. It almost seems as if he disapproves of the previous decisions made. I think this quote supports your point that their is a lack of unity in the United States. Also I think that in the next ten years, gay marriage Willie legal in all 50 states. I say this because although there is a lot of recent laws passed surrounding gay marriage, I think there are still states, Texas for example, who for some reason will take a lot longer in order to change their opinion on gay marriage.
Will, I agree with you that Cruz's quote is passive aggressive in that he is not in favor of gay marriage, but he does not condemn it out-right. I am not sure, however, that I completely agree with Colin. The quote doesn't seem to say anything about a lack of union of the United States. Though, I do think Cruz disagrees with the other states that pass gay marriage laws.
I can only say that I hope gay marriage will be passed in every state in the next 10 years. But, who knows?
Hi, William! I am one of John O'Connor's students at Northwestern. You have hit on something here that I think is hugely important in politics today. Many of our diplomats seem to be elected to office, and then stop listening to what their constituents actually have to say. If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely recommend looking up the Jon Stewart clip where he sends some of his friends to pretend to be gay in the South; the kindness and support they experienced was mind-blowing and shows just how easy it is to judge states based on the views of their politicians. I think the legalization of gay marriage in every state is really inevitable at this point, and my guess is that many states are not quite so hostile as they may seem.
@Grace. Thanks for the comment and that really is fascinating and honestly i did think some states did share just one unified view on issues but this has definietley changed my view and opened my mind on that. I will for sure look into the video and i might even blog about it in the future.
Post a Comment