American Foundation for Equal Rights

Marriage News Blog

Video: How marriage equality affects straight couples

Overview

We’re counting down the days to a Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8, with just two weeks left before the end of the current term. A new survey analyzes the effect that marriage equality has on opposite sex-couples. And we have more national surveys on marriage, plus a look ahead to upcoming battleground states.

Transcript

We’re counting down the days to a Supreme Court ruling on Prop 8, with just two weeks left before the end of the current term. A new survey analyzes the effect that marriage equality has on opposite sex-couples. And we have more national surveys on marriage, plus a look ahead to upcoming battleground states.

At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume. Welcome to Marriage News Watch for June 17, 2013.

There’s only a few days left for the Supreme Court to rule on Prop 8. So far they’ve set aside June twentieth and twenty-fourth for rulings. But they could add more days as we get closer to the end of the month.

Visit AFER.org for an illustrated guide to the various ways the court could rule. And subscribe here you YouTube for breaking alerts on the case.

A new study shows the effect that marriage equality has on heterosexual marriage rates. And that effect is: none. The research from Portland State University examined marriage rates in states with marriage equality or strong civil unions, going back to 1988. Not surprisingly, they found no relationship between relationship recognition for LGBT couples and marriage rates for opposite-sex couples.

Meanwhile another national survey has shown growing support for marriage. This time it’s an ABC/Washington Post poll, with support at 57% to 40%. This is one of the largest margins ever, and suggests that the rate of growth in public support has remained generally consistent since beginning a rapid upward climb around 2006. The national levels of support and opposition are now almost exactly flipped from where they were in 2008, when Prop 8 passed.

And even with major federal news on the horizon, individual states continue to move closer to marriage. We may have major developments in the coming months from states like Oregon, Hawaii, Illinois, Colorado and now Michigan. Organizers there have announced their plan to bring marriage to the voters in 2014 or, more likely, in 2016. Polling in Michigan looks good, with an EPIC-MRA poll showing 55 percent support to 41 percent opposed.

But remember, we’re just days away from a ruling in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases, which will completely change the marriage equality landscape from coast to coast. We’ll have all the information you need when the ruling comes, including analysis and next steps. Subscribe here on YouTube and at AFER.org for alerts. And remember to like this video and share it with your friends.

At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume. We’ll see you next week.