Nominees tread carefully over gay marriages

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:48:00 GMT

By Jennifer Gregory

Mayor Bill Welch recently performed civil union ceremonies in State College, Pa.

According to results collected from a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 68 percent of Pennsylvania voters oppose gay marriage. Despite such a large percentage of opposition, only 5 percent of voters list gay marriage as the most important issue in the upcoming election. “It’s not really that big of an issue,” said Carol Jastal, 50, from Findlay, Ohio. “If people want to get married it’s no issue to me.” State College Mayor Bill Welch presided over a public commitment ceremony for two gay and two lesbian couples on March 29. Even though the ceremony was not legally binding, there was still minor opposition from the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, a Penn State student group. “I’m surprised it took 15 years to be asked to do something like this,” said Mayor Welch with a small chuckle. State College is not the only city that is making steps toward becoming more “gay friendly.” The Pittsburgh City Council approved the creation of a registry for domestic partners both gay and straight on June 17. Unmarried couples over 18 who are not blood-related can register as partners for just $25. Recently, the California State Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was legal in the state of California. Naturally, the question that is raised is whether or not other states will follow suit. “I do think that other states will follow California’s recent ruling and allow same-sex couples to get married,” said Tom Koerber, Co-Director of the Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students at Penn State University. “However, Pennsylvania will probably not be one of the first few states to follow Massachusetts’ and California’s lead.” Earlier this year, Senate Bill 1250 was proposed from the Appropriations Committee. If it passed in the Pennsylvania senate, the bill would have amended the Pennsylvania state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. “The fact that such a bill was even proposed in Pennsylvania shows how much more we need to accomplish in this state (in terms of education and acceptance) before marriage will be an equal right for all,” Koerber said. Even though polls suggest that the issue of gay marriage is not as prevalent in voters’ minds as the economy and the war in Iraq, there is enough pressure to cause presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to take a stance on the issue. McCain defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but opposes an amendment banning same sex marriage. He says that the decision should be left to the states, but he supports legal benefits for same-sex partners. Obama opposes full marriage rights for same-sex couples, but supports civil unions. Like McCain, he opposes a constitutional ban on gay marriage. While not allowing full marriage rights, a handful of states, Vermont, Connecticut and New Jersey, offer civil unions for gay couples. “We have already learned in this country that separate-but-equal is never equal,” said Koerber. “Therefore, those should never be satisfied until their unions are recognized as marriages like any other couple.”

Penn State Grapevine

Nominees tread carefully over gay marriages