Hawaii, the state where it all began and eventually led to the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act, will soon become the 16th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage.
On Friday, the Hawaii House of Representatives voted 30-19 to approve the bill after 12 hours of debate. This vote followed the Senate's approval on Oct. 30. Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a strong supporter of marriage equality, is expected to to sign the bill and make it law next week and gay couples will be able to marry as soon as Dec. 2.
Georgia Equality is endorsing two openly gay incumbents as well as Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in the Nov. 5 election, but takes a pass on backing anyone in the Atlanta City Council District 5 race that has drawn three openly gay challengers of an LGBT friendly incumbent.
The state's largest LGBT advocacy organization also gives "favorable ratings" in Atlanta Council races to the incumbents and their challengers — to Atlanta City Council Post 2 At Large incumbent Aaron Watson and his challenger, Mary Norwood; and also to Lamar Willis, Atlanta City Council Post 3 At Large incumbent, and his challenger, Andre Dickens.
Today Georgia Equality announced it was launching the Why Marriage Matters Georgia campaign through a partnership with the national Freedom to Marry organization and the need to raise $50,000 to conduct polling of Georgia residents.
Funds raised will also be used to develop messaging to people across the state about why marriage equality matters in Georgia.
From a press release:
Campaigns are starting to heat up for the Nov. 5 election and at least two gay incumbents have drawn challengers in their races for reelection.
Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan is serving his first term representing the heavily gay District 6 post after being sworn into office in 2010. When elected he became the first openly gay man, as well as the fi rst Asian-American, to serve on the council.
He’s drawn two challengers, who filed right before the Aug. 30 qualifying deadline — Tracey Austin, a mother who is active in the Morningside elementary school programs; and Mike Boyle, neighborhood activist and a stay-at-home dad who is currently seeking with the help of investors to find a small business to purchase and operate on his own.
Several mayors from across the country participated in a conference call today sponsored by the Respect for Marriage Coalition to urge the Supreme Court to strike down DOMA.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who announced his support for marriage equality in December after struggling with the issue for some time, said today that while his city is progressive and offers domestic partnerships to city workers, Georgia overall is very conservative.