User talk:NatGertler/marriage

Edits

 * Under the heading "States prohibiting same-sex marriage in state law only" you shift from saying same-sex marriage to gay marriage.
 * Don't predict the future. State this more carefully: "The state will legalize civil unions in 2011." (This is a good example of a fact that should have its own citation to a news article.)
 * Under "States and jurisdictions with legalized same-sex marriage", don't say "Currently". The reader has no idea when you wrote that word or how up-to-date this entry is. Say: As of (date).
 * "State law prohibits gay marriage, and several courts have upheld its constitutionality." Re-write to make the antecedent of "its" clear. Like "upheld the law's" or "upheld the constitutionality of that ban."
 * "States with other cases"? maybe just "Other states"? Bmclaughlin9
 * Maine. There was a law. There was a referendum that undid the law. The WSJ does not say that the state constitution says anything at all about marriage or same-sex marriage. Why is Maine under the heading "States prohibiting same-sex marriage through constitutional amendment passed by voters"?


 * I think we're going to rework the article into a new table which will address these concerns. And in any case, feel free to edit the page as you want to address the errors. NYyankees51 (talk) 21:43, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 18:45, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Sourcing
Is it appropriate to rely entirely on the WSJ? It's a great source, but I think Wikipedia readers deserve better than a huge entry like this which is just a digest of one publication's account. I think this is a fundamental objection to the entry as it stands. WSJ is a great source for data like the percentage of votes, but no everyone will be prepared to accept one publication's summary and other sources will improve the entry's accuracy.


 * Take Wyoming, for example. Compare what you and the WSJ have with LGBT_rights_in_Wyoming. And you should be linking to that entry and not to Wyoming, I think.


 * New York? I very much doubt that New York law prohibits same-sex marriage. One can summarize the state of NY law that way, but more likely it only provides for the issuance of marriage license to an opposite-sex couple. There's no ban. It's an important difference.

Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 18:51, 1 April 2011 (UTC)


 * You're right; I did find other sources for parts the WSJ didn't cover but didn't incorporate them. As for NY, there was a Washington Post article that I'll try to find that said it's in state law. NYyankees51 (talk) 21:43, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

As you know, just finding a source that says something doesn't necessarily make it right. Even journalists at respectable publications take shortcuts. So it takes some digging. This NY court decision makes it clear that NY State law is less than precise and certainly doesn't ban same-sex marriage. You'll want especially the section that includes the sentence: "The Domestic Relations Law does not expressly bar same-sex marriage." And then goes on to say the statute makes the assumption that marriages are male/female when it talks about husband and wife or bride and groom. Bmclaughlin9 (talk) 22:30, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

I have an excel workbook with the each state current through February 2014 with the associated case references that could be used as citations. Cghake (talk) 20:46, 1 May 2014 (UTC)