Matt Baume of Marriage News Watch has
cheered the progress of gay marriage in 2011, saying it lays the
groundwork for major victories in the coming year.
In an over eight-minute video released
on Thursday, Baume summarized the year that was in marriage equality.
“OMG 2011. What a year for marriage
equality. We're still not ready to get married yet but we are so
close. Think about where we were a year ago. So much has happened,”
Baume said.
Baume goes on to name major gay rights
trends in 2011, including multiple polls that show a majority of
Americans support gay marriage and passage of civil unions laws in
five states – Hawaii, Rhode Island, Delaware and Illinois.
“Where's our attention going to be in
the next year?” Baume rhetorically asks.
“First, Perry v. Brown, it's
the Prop 8 case, and we're expecting a ruling any day now from the
appellate court. And then it's full steam ahead to the U.S. Supreme
Court. Then there's going to be big election fights in a bunch of
states. And don't forget we're also going to be in the middle of a
presidential campaign. Minnesota, North Carolina and Maine are the
states to watch as we approach November.”
“And then there's the legislative
fights. Lawmakers are expected to tussle over marriage or civil
unions in Colorado, Washington state, Maryland, New Jersey, New
Hampshire and Rhode Island.”
“And then there's public outreach
campaigns in just about every state.”
“Don't forget about the DOMA
lawsuits. … They'll all make advances over the next year.”
Baume added that the big question was
whether President Barack Obama would endorse gay marriage in 2012.
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)