Word: gayness
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Repealing DOMA, however, will require a presidential push or an unusual amount of energy from congressional Democrats. But like nearly every nationally prominent Democrat - from Hillary Clinton to Joe Biden - Obama has favored civil unions while opposing gay marriage. Although he has promised to work for the repeal of DOMA and to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military, these are not priorities in the Obama White House. As a result, any momentum gay-rights activists may be enjoying now is unlikely to be sustained...
Even if the issue finally gets to the top of Obama's agenda, his position on gay marriage is still troubling to many gay-rights activists, who argue that accepting civil unions is equivalent to kowtowing to separate-but-equal schools for black and white children. Yet what will matter most in the immediate future is whether legislatures in other states will follow the example of Vermont. New Hampshire lawmakers may be the next to decide the fate of gay marriage, with a vote scheduled soon. The issue is on the calendar in other statehouses, too, including New York...
...outcome of those votes - if they even occur - is uncertain. And there is plenty of reason for gay-marriage hopefuls to temper their expectations. Despite the big steps of the past week, gay marriage remains unpopular in nearly every state (California's Prop. 8 vote being one example). Even in Iowa, last week's unanimous state supreme court decision would likely be overturned were it possible to put the issue to voters anytime soon. And with a federal judiciary - and especially the Supreme Court - dominated by conservative judges appointed by President George W. Bush, a national victory for marriage-equality...
...pressure has been raised for Obama to make good on his promise to support gay rights in a meaningful way. The battle has broken, at least temporarily, in favor of gay marriage. The smiles on the faces of gay-rights supporters have been matched by a somber mood among Evangelicals and others opposed to expanding the definition of marriage. "I am not giving up on this issue, nor assuming that the debate is over," Mohler told TIME. "Clearly, it is not. Yet I do sense that the ground is moving under our feet...
...Until this week, critics of so-called gay marriage used that same undemocratic argument to try to discredit the new right, which is why the Vermont legislature's April 7 vote to legalize marriage for gay couples mattered so much: it was the first time in U.S. history that a first-branch institution, one that has to face voters in short order, actually granted equal marriage rights. (The California legislature has twice voted for marriage equality, but advocates couldn't muster enough votes to override Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vetoes). Lesbian and gay Americans, who will celebrate the 40th anniversary...