Same sex marriage ballot initiative… November 6, 2012
Posted by WorldbyStorm in US Politics.trackback
…it’s easy to forget that the Presidential election isn’t the only contest for the US electorate. There are Congressional and Senate races – the Democrats look likely to retain control of the latter but even on a very good day they’re not believed to have a whisper of retaking the former, but here’s another important element. In four states same sex marriage is on the ballot. And this is important. Same sex marriage hasn’t been passed by an electorate yet in the US.
Other states where measures either to define marriage as between one man and one woman, such as in Minnesota, and Maryland and Washington where electorates must either approve or jettison state laws in favour of same-sex marriage are also in play.
Putting aside the imperative for such initiatives in and of their own right I think it is crucial for there to be a psychological victory in terms of voters supporting the measure. It is going to happen someday. No question about it. But better sooner than later.
Puerto Rico is also voting on whether to become the 51st U.S. state, move towards independence, or become a ‘‘sovereign free association” of the US.
What’s the likely outcome? It would be one in the eye for the Anglo supremacists in the US if there was an overwhelmingly Spanish speaking state in the Union given that Spanish would have to be the official language of Puerto Rico if it were to become a state.
These votes have happened before and Puerto Ricans have so far opted for the status quo, although its a little confusing as to what precisely that status quo is; Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, are subject to the military draft, Formally its a U.S. ‘territory’, perhaps a euphemism for colony. They have their own Olympic team.
If they did opt for statehood it would still have to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
Ojedo Rios, leader of the FALN, Puerto Rico’s IRA, was shot dead by the FBI a few years ago.
President Clinton pardoned some members of the FALN who were doing long jail sentences, but some, refusing to denounce their right to armed struggle, refused the pardon and remain in jail.
In 1954 Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the U.S Congress.
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March/Puerto-Rican-Nationalists-Launch-Assault-on-U-S–Congress.html
Plenty of US states don’t have any official language. English is already an official language of Puerto Rico, along with Spanish. One of the arguments often made against statehood is that PR’s officially bilingual status would be at risk if the English Only movement succeeded in pushing through Official English at federal level, which so far it’s been unable to do.
Republicans tend to support Puerto Rican statehood, though they’re dead set against DC statehood – which is arguably a more just cause, since DC residents, unlike Puerto Rico residents, are still subject to federal taxes imposed by a Congress they can’t vote for. PR’s tax-free status is one of the main reasons they’ve voted against statehood in the past.
But it looks like the statehood folks have finally won. Without having followed any of the campaign, I would guess there’s probably a similar dynamic to what happened here in the last couple EU votes, where economic collapse scared people further into, rather than away, the arms of a “protector”.
That one slipped under my radar until you mentioned it. I can’t find out what effectivity the vote on Puerto Rico actually has… is it binding?
Thanks for the clarifications. When I spent a summer in the states on a J1 I was the only Anglo working in a restaurant kitchen; everyone else was Puerto Rican – brilliant blokes and great music on the stereo. I hadn’t realised there was an atmed resistance movement there.
Pedro Albizu Campos, the prominent Puerto Rican nationalist leader was strongly influenced by the Irish Republican Movement. He organized support groups in Harvard, where he was a student, and at other universities. He met Dev when he visited the U.S in
1919. He would later spend many years in U.S prisons.
And BTW, Maine and Maryland vote for same-sex marriage. Washintgon’s result in later? Minnesota I can’t find just yet. Good news.
Washington and Colorado voted to legalize marijuana use,-for any purpose, including getting high.