Gay Activists Still Trying to Get Approval for Ballot Measures

Homosexuality, ,

Late yesterday afternoon, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected a very oddly-worded proposal to repeal Amendment 83, Arkansas’ constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Typically, a proposed constitutional amendment consists of a popular name, ballot title, and the text of the amendment itself. The group sponsoring the measure, however, submitted a popular name, “summary,” and ballot title; they did not provide the text of their amendment.

This, among other things, caused Attorney General McDaniel to reject the proposal.

Right now there are two efforts underway to undo Arkansas’ democratically-adopted constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. One effort purposes to legalize same-sex marriage outright in 2016. The other–which the Attorney General rejected yesterday–seeks to repeal Arkansas’ Marriage Amendment in 2014.

In 2004, 75% of Arkansas voters voted to define marriage as the union of one man to one woman. Recent polling indicates an overwhelming majority of Arkansans still support that amendment.

You can read the Attorney General’s full opinion here.

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Columnist Offers Solution to Divorce: “Wedlease”

2 CommentsMarriage

Last Sunday a guest column appeared in the Washington Post advocating “term marriages” or “wedleases”—temporary marriages that would end after a predetermined number of years.

The column claims this could reduce divorce. In the column, the author points out how common divorce has become in recent years, and asks the question, “Why doesn’t society make the legal structure of marriage more congruent to our behavior” by legalizing temporary marriages? He even goes so far as to claim when a temporary “wedlease” expires, the husband and wife could renew their marriage “lease” or go on about their separate lives as simply “as vacating a rental unit.”

The idea sounds so far-fetched that you would almost think the column was satire. The truth is, however, with more couples trying “open” marriages and many states choosing to define marriage as something other than the union of one man to one woman for a lifetime, it’s worth taking time to explain why “wedleases” simply would not work. (more…)

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