Gender Discrimination Disappearing in New England

De iure gender discrimination has now been ended in all New England states except for Rhode Island where progress is imminent based upon a poll of the state's voters: 57% support same-sex marriage, 36% oppose.

There are several reasons for the solid legal recognition in New England. The region has long demonstrated a strong libertarian component, and has been at the forefront of other social movements for equality - such as abolition of slavery and women's suffrage.

There are a number of demographics which worked to same-sex marriage proponents favor:

• New England is regarded as the least religious region of the country, and religiousness has been tied in polls to opposition to same-sex marriage.
  
• There are a large number of Democrats in New England, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to support same-sex marriage.
  
• New England has higher education attainment levels than the rest of the country, and polling has shown that support for gay marriage rises with education levels.
  
• Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire have among the highest percentage of white citizens in the country, and polls have shown whites are often less likely to oppose gay marriage than many ethnic minorities.

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There have been a number of opinions regarding possible cultural factors that could have contributed to the strong legal support in New England:

• New Englanders outside Massachusetts share media markets and do not believe they have seen negative consequences from the state's legalization of same-sex marriage there. As well New Englanders have seen same-sex unions for a decade, since Vermont was the first in the nation with civil unions in 2000.
  
• Same-sex couples have found more acceptance in New England for over a century, for instance "Boston marriages" between women in the 19th century.
  
• There is a view of religion as private and personal, and a separation of one's own beliefs from politics, that does not necessarily exist in other regions of the country
  
• Catholics, who dominate the region's religious landscape, were at one point a persecuted minority, and may see their own past reflected in the modern LGBT community.
  
• The presence of GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) in the region, which is based in Boston.

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The tradition of libertarian ideals, social tolerance, and respect for equality that New England upholds sticks in the craws of those Sen. Graham (R-SC) has characterized as the disappearing "angry white guys." They become especially flustered at flinty Yankee integrity and resolve.

Not surprisingly, New Englanders, once forming a bastion of moderate Republican ideology, have now chosen no Republicans to represent them in Congress.

Their forward-looking, independent spirit is alive and well.

 

There's a certain irony to this part.

While New England has generally been more progressive about social issues regarding minority rights, does a lack of contact with racial minorities make it easier to tolerate differences?

There's a bit of a paradox here. One thing to remember is that some of the worst race riots during integration were in Boston.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_busing_crisis

So, while New England is progressive on certain fronts, the less homogeneous parts of it still struggle with ethnic conflict occasionally.

 

New England used to be a solidly Republican region, in the days when they had morals and values.

But the New Englanders have gradually abandoned God and a new era of darkness has gripped the land.

The people have no hope for anything better than the pains and toils of this life, for when they die there will be no glorious new world for them to ascend to.

And this is sad, and very depressing for them.

 

Good point! The mid-1970s was an extremely volitile period that rivaled the ugliest aspects of desegregation and repeal of Jim Crow laws elsewhere.
It evoked the Salem witch trials of the 1690s.

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As of late, fortunately for the the GOP, now on the verge of extinction in New England, the moribund TPs would be laughed out of Maine if they attempted to challenge Susan Collins with one of their wing nuts in next year's primary. After wreaking havoc in several otherwise expected Republican victories nationally, and costing the party control of the Senate, Mainers would happily administer a complimentary lobster enema to any who might try to substitute one of the Party's nutters for the popular Collins.

The only other Republican left in the New England delegation is Kelly Ayotte (NH) whose poll numbers indicate she may wish to shift back to the ideological centre if she hopes to defy the New England tide. As of late, she has shown an enthusiastic indifference to the marriage equality law she once opposed.


Anyone who might wish to provide an overall perspective on the politics of other of the nation's regions is cordially enjoined to do so. Demographics confirm the major shift underway, and it is illuminating to examine where they are, comparatively, on that timeline.

 

Other than the Patriots not being in the Super Bowl, they seem pretty chipper, actually.

 

New England believes in 'keep it right, keep it white'

Nice

 

My guess is, you're wrong.

Having hope for a better life after death gives your life a purpose that can't be replaced with anything.

The post-modern man searches in vain for alternatives to God and heaven.

Douglas Addams commented on this pointless quest when he said the answer to the meaning of life is the number "42."

Some find it in make-up, clothes and binge parties.

Some find it in New Age philosophies, astrology, or witchcraft.

Some find it in blissful ignorance, watching TV shows, going to movies, surfing the internet, keeping themselves too busy to ask ultimate questions.

Some find it in sex, pornography, or alternative lifestyles.

Some find it in alcohol or drugs, to keep their minds numb to reality.

 

I would not call New England a liberal bastion. They, out of anywhere else in the country, would be the first to rise up against tyranny.

They are extremely proud and patriotic so don't confuse thier political voting with a referendum for liberal ideals. It would be like me and my tea party brethren voting for a democrat because we hate the republican guys more. Sure we are doing it but it doesn't mean we are liberals.

 

Your "guess" seems to be predicated entirely upon your personal bias.

Yes, some seek solace in Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and any number of religions, certainly, but contemplating the eternal perpetuation of one's ego is hardly a satisfying substitute for actually fulfilling the humanitarian imperatives for the individual, the societies they constitute, and the institutions they form to express those values. As espoused by mainstream Christianity, those would be

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead​

Also, do not misconstrue New Englanders' traditional respect for privacy regarding any personal religious notions as anti-religions. It is merely a matter they prefer be kept separate from politics to the benefit of both.

 

The individualism that characterizes New England would readily revert to its former Republican allegiance if the Republican Party returned to its former restraint regarding Statist religiosity.

 

Very possible. New Englanders, of which I am one, are very traditional. They love the Norman Rockwell ideals yet at the same time they are also very realistic and fair. They don't pull punches and easily accept ideas such as gay marriage or abortion yet want to do it while they hold Christian values.

New Englanders do not give you their vote, you have to earn it. And yes, they are a different culture from the rest of the nation. They are bound in patriotism, history, and the welfare of this country like no others are. They were the first to stand up to England and probably will be the first to stand up to our government if it gets that bad.

 

Ayuh,.... Agreed,.... Maine was lost to the Progressive Liberals after Vietnam,...

All the hippies draft dodgers from the away big cities fled to the woods of Maine to get student deferments at the easy to enter Maine Universities....
Unfortunately, after the war, they stayed, 'n went into government...

 

Our Tea Party movement was born in Maine.

I would not say that the hippies control that area precisely.

 

So when will you show the information on gender discrimination? I see a lot on sexuality discrimination here. Did you decide to switch topics at the last minute?

 

Those who are quick to lash out at New England as a hotbed of moral perfidy are hard-pressed to account for Massachusetts having the lowest divorces rate and, consistently, one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in America. Perhaps it is the Commonwealth's high academic achievement that contributes to such enviable numbers, but a principled ethos is also an essential. The region's being in the vanguard on such issues as emancipation, women's suffrage, and the abolition of gender-discrimination in marriage contracts arises from both intellectual and ethical integrity.

 

The modern Tea Party arose as a libertarian, Ron Paul-inspired, grass-roots movement before Church Lady busybodies, frustrated bigots, and those espousing theocratic tyranny quickly infiltrated and perverted it, and were organised and exploited by uber-lobbyist Dick Armey.

Now that they have fizzled, maybe a legitimate, libertarian movement will arise again.



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The Northeast has a lower divorce rate than the South for one reason and one reason alone: Catholics still consider divorce a bad thing, but Protestants don't. So divorce is pretty common in the Protestant South, even though they are pro-life and anti-homosexuality.

But Catholics are more liberal than Protestants because they confuse the Christian virtues of feeding the poor with the Democrat party's agenda to turn the poor into a permanent dependency class.

And any Catholic has the Hobson's Choice of voting for Democrats despite their kill-em-all views on abortion. And the day of pro-lifers having any say in the Democrat party is finally and firmly over and done with.

 

So, New Englanders are now a godless crowd that adhere rigidly to Vatican dictates? (Remember, you proclaimed that, "New Englanders have gradually abandoned God and a new era of darkness has gripped the land.")

Your tortured apologia for comparative Southern marital instability is noted, along with your blatant anti-Catholic prejudice.

Respect for privacy and a concomitant repugnance at State womb intrusion are obviously not exclusively Catholic values. Patriotic Americans, regardless of church affiliation, deem theocratic impositions via governmental coercion a cowardly method of fanatics imposing their dogma on others.

E.g., you are free to maintain that women can avoid impregnation by rape if they simply make a wish. You are not free to force others to believe that.

As for your avoiding mention of the relative rates of out-of-wedlock teen pregnancies, you must contradict yourself again by attributing the stark contrast to birth control and abortion in New England by those Rome-subservient secularists:

Possibly contributing to the political disposition of New Englanders is educational achievement.

A 2012 comparative analysis of the 50 states indicates these as the top ten:

1. Massachusetts
2. New Jersey
3. Vermont
4. New Hampshire
5. Connecticut
6. Maryland
7. Minnesota
8. Pennsylvania
9. Colorado
10. Wisconsin



.

 

I don't understand, men and women have been able to get married in New England since the start of our nation? Oh, you mean to each other within the same gender? That's not gender, that's behavior. Good attorneys and Supreme Court Justices will be appraised of the difference, I assure you..among other peculiarities of that behavioral group.

 

Ah yes, being a New Englander myself from New Hampshire, I found it very disheartening to see and to have libs from Taxachusetts cross the border into Southern Hampshire to live and to escape their high taxes, only to have the once Conservative state of N.H. turn into a bastion of progressive idiots. I guess the libs in N.H. didn't realize that we take our state's motto very seriously...."Live Free or Die". Oh well, there was a time when patriotic Massachusetts was the first to revolt against an overburdening foreign king; now it will be up to N.H. to be the first to revolt against this overreaching foreign-style government in our own nation. How we got to this point of having czars and anti American leaders destroy and transform our once proud and traditional nation into an experiment for failed socialism is beyond me. And that progressive hillary is just chomping at the socialist tit to continue this parade of anti American socialism in 2016.

 

Apparently, they are willing to endure the higher property taxes, electricity costs, etc. in the Granite State, and since businesses being assessed higher taxes in NH discourages economic development, nearly 100,000 New Hampshire residents must travel to Massachusetts to find work. ("Live free or die" is code for "Make it in Massachusetts.") The Bay State welcomes those frostback migrant workers that cross the border daily. No one is advocating a wall, with or without the alligator-filled moat. There is ample prosperity to go 'round. Besides, they pay state income taxes to Massachusetts and make their obligatory payoffs in excellent maple syrup. (^8

NH property taxes are nearly one-third higher per capita than in Massachusetts, and about 70 percent higher than the US average. Adding to the cost of residency, the state does have the fifth-highest electric rates in the country.

Some New Hampshirites like to cajole when the subject of Massachusetts arises, possibly because they realize they are largely dependent in several respects upon their southern neighbour:

New Hamsphire is a very nice place to live, and getting better all the time.

 

Then you are ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY, AND UTTERLY CLUELESS about New England! They just elected Liz Warren to the Senate! The only places more liberal than Massachusetts and Maine are Kalifornia, New York City, and Chicago.

 

Well f*** you too.

The GOP isn't "on the verge of extinction." People so often forget that parties are coalitions, not singular ideologies. If all Democrats were like Obama, the Democrats wouldn't have control of the Senate (they have Blue Dogs in VA, WV, etc.). The Republican party has their own moderates, who are alive and well in New England. Scott Brown is very popular (if I remember correctly, he's running for the other MA senate seat after narrowly losing to a blue eyed blond Native American). Susan Collins is popular. Mike Michaud (representative from Maine) is one of the most conservative blue dogs in the House. A TP libertarian-Republican holds the Governor's seat in Maine (though he will in all likelihood lose it).

The GOP is far from dead in New England.

 

???? Maine has a blue dog representative, a moderate Republican Senator, an Independent Senator (who is a center-right Maine political legend), a TP libertarian-Republican Governor. WTF are you talking about? We're socially liberal (though not VERY - multiple states are more socially liberal), and we're fiscally conservative. While New England is a liberal bastion, YOU don't know what you're talking about.

 

Wow, what a steaming turd. Many of those are former Massachusetts residents that already worked in Massachusetts but moved to New Hampshire!

But electric rates are lower than MA...and Massachusetts property taxes are climbing like a Titan booster! One dude I work with just walked away from his house...his taxes had increased by close to 650%...he gave up when the taxes were more than his mortgage.