Finance reports were released. Supporters of same-sex marriage outspent anti-gay bigots in Maine, according to the Nashua Telegraph in neighboring New Hampshire.
The pro-marriage side wasted $5.8 million trying to achieve equality. The anti-marriage side spent only $3.8 million to preserve discrimination against gays and lesbians.
In New Hampshire, marriage equality, which was signed into law last summer, goes into effect on Jan. 1.
In Washington, D.C., marriage equality was voted into law by an 11-2 majority by the city council.
Note: No one reading this can accuse me of being the biased, liberal media.
What does marriage equality cost?
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You can argue that money was wasted because we lost the votes in California and Maine, but that would assume that we’re losing the war. In fact, the momentum is on our side and it’s the anti-marriage side that’s wasting their money by just stalling progress.
I think that these referendums are unconstitutional and morally reprehensible (in that they allow a majority to limit the rights of a protected class), but the upside is that it’s forcing people to talk about the issue and pick a side. 10 years ago, support for marriage equality was nonexistent, and now we have about 48% of the public, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and more to come.
I don’t consider fighting for marriage equality a waste of money. Until we have politicians who will stick up for equal rights instead of allowing mob rule, this is what we have to do.
Hummmm… and why do you suppose that only myself and a couple others have found solstice in using this negative behavior as a weapon in our own favor???
Are you tired of feeling like a 3rd class member of these United States Of America? Do you own your own business or partnership where you can call the shots on your pricing structure?
Hello.. I have come to the conclusion that rather than us gathering in rallies or meetings to yell and scream or demand our equal rights, hose of you who own your own business can make this impact on everyone just as I have done.
I do contract web design work for people and have been in the business for about 20 years. Last week I made the announcement that married people are now charged 50% more than single people.. This is regardless of their sexual preference…
Since they are clearly listed in the archives of personal data as being married there is little they can do to lie or cover their tracks on this data which is publicly available.
There isn’t a law in the United States that prevents me from charging a 50% increase for clients who are legally married (according to the state of Texas where I live) and since homosexual marriage from outside the state of Texas is not recognized this would mean that current married gay people are eligible for the “single” version of pricing structure.
So the bottom line, if you’re single, then my hourly rate is $50 and if you’re married then my hourly rate is $100. At first, clients were annoyed but since I have a 20 year track record of what I do, they were put into a position where they had to make a choice.. I told them that if they had issues with it, then they should contact their congressman and demand a change or addition of some kind of amendment to our fabulous constitution.
Some of them wrote letters and complained, but they continued to pay for my work and I graciously told them that when my partner and I of 14 years are provided with our own marriage equality, as they have, then the prices will become “EQUAL” as well. Even though we both legally have the same last name, we still lack freedoms that hetero married people take for granted so maybe it’s time to start a firestorm of change.
Sometimes the best way to get outsiders attention is to engage with them right where it matters the most.. Right in the Wallet.. The complainers took part in forming the laws that eliminate my freedoms so why shouldn’t they pay for it??
I passed this on to another friend in the east who runs a Hair,Nail,Skin salon and guess what? He did the same thing too and he said “…even though the rich bitches are complaining about the price increase, they know why and why it’s being enforced. Even one of my customers has a husband in the political arena and you can bet that she sure gave him an earful when her last salon bill was double the price. But will she come back for more work? Of course she will… I’m the only game in town who’s been doing it for close to 30 years with awards and citywide kudos in all the papers. But ya know, this is certainly going to make an economic impact on the people who have been ignoring this up until now.”
So boys and girls… maybe it’s time for us all to really take a stand and instead of yelling and screaming for our rights.. Put others in a position where they will will give them to us or they will be forced to pay this “non-Equality Fee” cuz there’s no state in the US that can prevent you from discriminating on this level.
Good point about my use of the word “wasted.” If that money had not been spent, the loss would have been greater, fewer people would be supporting marriage equality and the next fight would be even harder. By wasted I meant $5.8 million spent and nothing concrete to show for it. But that does assume this was the war and not just a battle.
Maybe frustrating would be a better choice of words. After spending $2 million more than the opposition, equality failed.
What I found most interesting in the Maine vote was that they needed about 30,000 votes to swing the other direction. And it would seem those 30,000 voters needed were in favor of the medical marijuana ordinance, if you compare the two votes and the numbers. It kind of boggles my mind to think the same people could be against gay marriage., but I guess smoking weed goes across a wider segment of the population than once thought.
But times and minds change because of the spending money and having these conversations with people. On face value, yeah millions of dollars were wasted on a result we didn’t want. You could say the same of any election for that matter. But getting into mailboxes, getting on TV, etc is very costly. And that is the price to pay in politics.
But we have many more victories throughout the country in this cycle than we do defeats and that is where it counts.
You also categorize the money as having been spent “for” gay marriage, and therefore a waste. But why frame it that way. It was just as much money spent against bigotry and against discrimination and inequality.
It forced the people who are committed to keeping us down to spend huge amounts of money, and all they had going for them were lies and misrepresentations, many of which are now out on the table publicly rather than being politely behind closed doors – many of the closet doors.
Even straight people are being told that their marriages are nothing more than complimentary sex organs, that their marriages mean nothing if they don’t have their own biological children, that adoption and blended families aren’t real or valid, that only selected Christian denominations can declare a marriage real and that civil marriages are meaningless.
They are being told that their neighbors, their friends, their sons and daughters, their teachers, their doctors, their own families are evil and dangerous, and that some types of love and commitment will destroy civilization. They are being told that some denominations of Christianity aren’t allowed to set their own doctrines, and that other religions don’t even need to apply.
They are watching as real special interest groups are spending millions to put down people who never threatened them, never hurt them, and often, don’t even live in their own states.
They are watching Churches spend money on politics and policing other people’s morality while they are being rocked by scandal and forced to pay millions in lawsuits for abuse. They watch as the politicians and pundit who scream the loudest about values get wrapped up in sex and ethics scandals, enter into their third marriages, and still try to claim the moral high ground.
What we spent isn’t money wasted, even if all it did was expose the bigots for who they are. The anti-gay people behave as though the public is going to get tired of people asking for equality and freedom, when all the trends show that what people are getting tired of is hypocrisy and discrimination.
Yes, I want results. I want my legally valid marriage recognized in my home state, and I want to stop having to spend large amounts of money to approximate things my neighbors get for free. And it going to happen, because we aren’t going away.
What is George Wallace remembered for? What do these people think they will be remembered for?
Kudos to DC, and to CT where we just celebrated the one year anniversary of our marriage equality law on 11/12, which followed the passage of a civil union law in 2005.
And congrats to all the couples coming to CT to wed from all across the country, many of whom have been together for 20, 30 and 40 years!
Onward to equality,
Joe Mustich, Justice of the Peace,
Washington, Connecticut, USA.
And I don’t think that civil rights should be put up to a popular vote. And marriage foes should find another issue to focus on in the 21st century…because life’s just to short.
Supporters of sodomite marriage outspent supporters of traditional marriage in Maine, according to the Nashua Telegraph in neighboring New Hampshire.
Well Hallelujah! The Good Lord Jesus delivered us from evil and at a discount too!
Rick Wagner’s idea is excellent, but I would take it a step further. Instead of asking these people to go out and vote to allow more people to be married, I would ask them to go out and vote to end marital-based discrimination. Rick Wagner’s comment highlights the fact that unmarried individuals are subject to legalized discrimination, while marrieds enjoy 1,100+ legal and financial perks. While same-sex marriage will help LGBTers who wish to marry, it will leave everyone else who remains single out in the cold. Marital status discrimination is no more right than any other kind of discrimination. No group of people in this nation should be subject to a different set of laws that makes them second-class citizens.