I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The day after the Proposition 8 ruling upholding the ban on gay marriage in California, Gallup released a a poll about how Americans view gay rights and the Los Angeles Times unveiled an interactive timeline of gay rights in America.
According to the Gallup poll, 57 percent of Americans say that gay marriage “should not be recognized as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriage.” The same question has been asked six times since 2003 and the results have always been about the same.
When asking whether “gay or lesbian relations between consenting adults” should be legal, 56 percent of Americans agree with that statement.
And as for the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, a large majority Americans disagree with it — Gallup writes, “Today, the latest USA Today/Gallup poll finds 69% of Americans in favor of military service by openly gay men and lesbians.”
President Barack Obama vowed to change the policy when he got into office, but has since said that changing hte policy must wait.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times shows how rights for gay couples have changed over the past decade.
New Mexico is one of just two states (the other being, somewhat surprisingly, Wyoming) that has no law either for or against the rights for gay couples. While most have changed towards stricter laws against gay rights, some have outright legalized gay marriage in the same time period.
Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts and Iowa all have legalized gay marriage. However, ten states not only currently have constitutional amendments against gay marriage, but also ban “other legal rights” for gay couples.
