Or more accurately, I didn’t realize how much of the developed world has surpassed us in the expansion of universal human rights. To wit: dark blue indicates where same sex marriage is expressly forbidden by law. Do you see dark blue anywhere but in the US???
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
Full rights in South Africa? Boy, have they ever changed! Whooda thunk it?
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It really surpised me too Jim. Whooda thunk it indeed!
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It’s sad that the U.S. has so far to go in terms of LGBTQ rights. Shining city on a hill my hiney.
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Only way I could leave a comment is to “reply”. This is a comment rather than a reply to Ahab.
Still worse in Africa and middle east. Still a crime.
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True, but I’m not comparing us to them – they’re not the ‘developed world’.
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Bad chart. no biscuit. It’s a poor representation of the true facts of the matter. Color coding is provocative as well since the laws prohibiting queer marriage are a more vibrant color than the laws against homosexuality, which are often capital crimes resulting in execution.
Oh,and it’s also wrong. The Russian federation doesn’t allow queer marriage and has no laws against protecting against discrimination or harassment on the basis of sexual orientation, though they do in some areas – since last year – have laws against “homosexual, bisexual, and trans-sexual propaganda.”
But frankly, any lack of recognition of the queers in America is their own fault and nobody else’s. They were right on track to get legal recognition but they pushed it too hard and tried to legalize acceptance instead of concentrating on legal rights. That galvanized the majority of the American people against them.
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[That galvanized the majority of the American people against them.] And that’s where YOU are wrong:
2012 polls:
November 7-11 poll found 51% of respondents support same-sex marriage while 47% are opposed.[10]
A June 6 CNN/ORC International poll showed that a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage being legalized at 54%, while 42% are opposed.[11]
A May 22 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 54% of Americans would support a law in their state making same-sex marriage legal, with 40% opposed.[12]
A May 17–20 ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that 53% believe same-sex marriage should be legal, with only 39% opposed, a low point for opposition in any national poll so far.[13][14]
A May 10 USA Today/Gallup Poll, taken one day after Barack Obama became the first sitting President to express support for same-sex marriage,[15] showed 51% of Americans agreed with the President’s endorsement, while 45% disagreed.[16] A May 8 Gallup Poll showed plurality support for same-sex marriage nationwide, with 50% in favor and 48% opposed.[17]
An April Pew Research Center poll showed support for same-sex marriage at 48%, while opposition fell to 44%.[18]
A March 7–10 ABC News/Washington Post poll found 52% of adults thought it should be legal for same-sex couples to get married, while 42% disagreed and 5% were unsure.[19] A March survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found 52% of Americans supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 44% opposed.[20]
A February 29 – March 3 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 49% of adults supported allowing same-sex couples to marry, while 40% opposed.[21]
It’s from here where there are links to all of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_States
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Polls are “nice,” Moe, and they may make feel better but they don’t mean anything.
The simple fact is that, in the wake of the queers’ insanity and hate over Prop 8, state after state voted in the most harsh anti-gay laws and constitutional amendments in recent memory. Most of these were done via referendum votes as well.
“Public Opinion” is all well and good but it’s a lie more often than not since, when it comes down to action, people’s choices don’t in groups match up to poll results very often.
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So what I’m thinking jonolan, is that you are perfectly comfortable with rejecting the measurements we – and almost all large businesses – use to get a look at publlic opinion.
In this election, the right clung too their own polls and refused to believe the polls that weren’t represnetive of their own views. And they were very very wrong.
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Yes, I’m perfectly comfortable rejecting measurements that have, time and time again proven to be inaccurate and are now so flawed by observer bias and “required” results as to be useless except for gauging general trends.
And you’re right about the Right. They made the same mistake whereas I predicted the outcome of the elections fairly close to spot on because I used the polls as only a background metric and considered the numbers of people who would actually be galvanized to act.
Remember that “I’m in favor of” or “I’m against” rarely translates into action unless there’s a strongly motivating force. In the case of the queers, they provided their enemies with that strongly motivating force while their allies weren’t, if one believes the polls, motivated enough to get out and do something.
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Yeah, judging from the reports I’ve seen, Africa is still *not* a gay-friendly continent. (With the exception of South Africa, I guess!) That being said, the trends in America are also changing…after all, just in this election, there were majorities supporting gay marriage in some states!
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Oh we’re getting there brat – and it will accelerate as the generational change in gov’t happens.
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While we point to others …
We fail to do our OWN homework….
Furthermore we just stopped a American Political Party from cancelling some advances we ALREADY have!…..
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No, you didn’t. Almost all of those “advances” are handled at the state level and the GOP is in control of most state governments.
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Same sex marriage is on the docket at SCOTUS this term. We’ll see. I predict they uphold it.
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I predict that they’ll make a VERY specific ruling based upon the details of the case they’re hearing and leave the overall issue in limbo. That’s essentially what every federal judge has done so far.
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Possibly, but they’re the Supreme Court and any ruling, even a narrow one, will leave open avenues for a next step.
But I really beleive they’ll uphold it with vigor – they’re not in the habit of restricting rights. I also predict that they shoot down Affirmative Action.
We’ll see.
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True, this Court is not in the habit of restricting rights but they are in the habit of handing down very specific rulings based upon the exact case brought before them. That’s why I’m not expecting what you’d describe as vigor.
On the other hand, Citizens United was actually a very, very specific ruling that was rock solid and look what other, lesser judges did with that opinion later on – so I think you’re right about any ruling on queer marriage leaving open avenues for a next step.
As for Affirmative Action – that’s going to have to be a very specific ruling on a very specific sort of case since Affirmative Action has no real meaning in and of itself and, hence, is used to describe both good and evil things.
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I find the light bllue areas more troubling than the dark. That said, our stance in this country is certainly un-enlightened.
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The light blue areas are behind in EVERYTHING. They are Second and Third world countries –
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You mean we’re NOT? Not even in Florida?
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I do think the gray area is a little misleading. My impression is that China doesn’t condone homosexuality, let along sanction gay marriage. That’s a pretty big part of the globe.
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Being queer is legal in China since the 1990s but they have no legal protections, can’t do anything open like a Pride event, and marriage is right out because marriage in China is all about having children, both legally and culturally.
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Moe, you might be interested in this gem from Uganda where there are about to propose a bill to make homosexuality subject to a death penalty. The link is here http://www.allout.org/en/actions/uganda-now
We have a ways to go all over before what people chose to do in their own bedrooms is simply a matter for them.
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Hey David, nice to see you. It’s also disturbing that the anti-gay movement in a lot of Africa is being pushed by an unholy alliance between reepressive governments and Catholic bishops who are so conservative they are on the brink of a fracture. They in turn are supported by some of our own most ranccid far right religious interest gruops . . . in some countries, homosexuality is punished by death and they don’t even speak out against that!
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