Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

North Dakota has an unusual distinction…

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According to the Huffington Post, as of today, North Dakota is the only state left in the US in which a ban exists against Marriage Equality and said ban is not yet being challenged in court.

In past diaries, I have speculated that Utah would be the last state in which Marriage Equality was introduced (and when I proven wrong when Utah’s ban was stuck down last December 20th), and I switched to West Virginia being the last state if this becomes a 50 state sequence. I have no real connection to North Dakota other than to drive through the Southwest corner of the state many years ago while driving towards Mount Rushmore from Montana.

In a small way, it is last, which is sad IMHO.

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Comments

  1. They also have the only state run bank in the country. That is a policy we could look to them to adopt. But they should really get with the rest of us on equality…

  2. North Dakota is in an odd place right now. An oil-boom that has attracted a temporary workforce, a highly skewed male/female ratio, possibly the most politically activist Native American population, willingness to elect elephants or donkeys… For all the map-driven talk of Alaska’s oddity, I think North Dakota is the most exceptional state in the union right now. Not all exceptions are good.

    • They did elect Byron Dorgan several times in the recent past, and voted in Heidi, even though she has retreated from the populism that likely got her elected in a vain attempt to appear ‘centrist’ and ‘non-partisan’. But the fact that even their most conservative Governor’s couldn’t overturn Roe or kill the bank shows that there is still some of that spirit alive there today. But, certainly not enough of it. Their tolerance of fracking and strip mining reminds me of West Virginia’s tolerance for destroying it’s centuries old heritage not to mention it’s water supply to make a few out of state and out of country robber barons happy. He may have been a Klansman at one point, but you’d have never seen Robert Byrd take an assault weapon to a prized piece of Democratic legislation.

      I’m still dismayed at how these states that so rightly tore down barriers preventing women from voting, ahead of America I might add, is still so behind America when it comes to marriage equality.

    • You just show up and vote, making it even easier than same day registration.

  3. Word is that a lawsuit will be filed. But it doesn’t surprise me that it’s taking time to find plaintiffs, because there are no LGBT anti-discrimination laws in the state, so whoever sues for marriage equality will out themselves and potentially lose jobs, their housing, access to public accommodations, etc. Combine that with the very small population in the state (it’s the 48th least-populated state), and it’s not surprising that it’s taking a bit longer there.

    • There is going to be a class action suit to stop Catholic schools for dismissing teachers they knew to be gay after those teachers get married, but many of the plaintiffs have already been out of work for a few years and less likely to be in a financial place to sue and those that are employed obviously don’t want to get outed or fired.

      It may be difficult for them to win since schools are arguably a protected ministry (and even the liberals on the court recognize that churches can fire gay clergy, though it seems like this vice principal has a fairly strong case. Particularly since the schools own handbook stated it would not fire over sexual orientation or marital status.

      • I was browsing school websites yesterday (looking for work – I have a history license) and came across the following:

        In its employment practices, Central Catholic High School will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, unfavorable military discharge, marital status, mental or physical handicap unrelated to the ability to perform duties of the position. This policy shall be interpreted in a manner which is consistent with the religious mission of Central Catholic High School and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

        Do they or do they not discriminate in hiring against gay people?

      • Gays have been fired from jobs not related to religious instruction, like lunch lady, swimming coach and administrator. It is this class of employees that may have some legal leverage if the schools only fire gays but not, say, remarried heterosexuals or some other group that is discordant with Catholic teaching.

        • And to cover themselves, some have expanded the list to include heterosexuals violating these moral clauses as well. Considering we now have a Pope who says ‘who am I to judge?’ on gay issues, ‘the divorced are not ex-communicated’ on that issue, and ‘if only the sinless could show, the church would be empty, even I wouldn’t be eligible’-these schools and dioceses seem to be on the wrong track with the direction of the church and society.

          Francis was right to say his papacy was akin to performing triage on a battlefield-gays, victims of abuse, women in general, and women who remarry like my mom feel alienated from the faith even when they know in their hearts they haven’t done anything wrong. I just wonder if one man, even a pope, is enough to reverse the damage and heal the wounds.

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