Tag Archives: United States

Agence France-Presse reports: Life expectancy in 2040 is set to rise at least a little in all nations but the rankings will change dramatically, with Spain taking the top spot while China and the United States trade places, researchers said Wednesday. With a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years, Spain — formerly in 4th place — will dethrone Japan, …

Gallup reports: The percentage of American adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) increased to 4.5% in 2017, up from 4.1% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2012 when Gallup began tracking the measure. The latest estimate is based on over 340,000 interviews conducted as part of Gallup’s daily tracking in 2017. The expansion in the number of Americans …

Just in from PRRI Polling: Recent dramatic shifts in support for same-sex marriage are also evident at the state level. Today, majorities in 44 states believe gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to legally marry, compared to only 30 states in 2014. In only six states does the issue of same-sex marriage garner less than majority support: Alabama (41%), …

Forbes reports: “Horrific laws” condemning people to death because of whom they love are the focus of a new international proposal. “The question of the death penalty” resolution to denounce the most severe punishment for consensual same-sex relations was passed on Friday by the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Twenty-seven nations voted in favor of the resolution; …

Over 60 gay couples married on Sunday in Puerto Rico’s first such mass ceremony. The Associated Press reports: The event follows the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in late June requiring every state to recognize same-sex marriages. The U.S. island’s governor signed an executive order soon after that ruling to comply. Organizer Ada Conde, an attorney who filed a federal …

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From the Washington Post: For decades we have believed that the most popular name for a road was “2nd.” But by my analysis, that crown actually goes to “Park.” (Again, look to the methodology section for a discussion of this.) Out of over a million roads in the United States, 9,640 are named “Park.” Only 8,232 are named “2nd,” or …

Via Gallup: Ten of the 12 states with the highest self-reported religious service attendance are in the South, along with Utah and Oklahoma. The strong religious culture in the South reflects a variety of factors, including history, cultural norms and the fact that these states have high Protestant and black populations — both of which are above average in their …

Via SCOTUSblog: Taking on a historic constitutional challenge with wide cultural impact, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to hear four new cases on same-sex marriage. The Court said it would rule on state power to ban gay and lesbian marriage and state power to refuse to recognize such marriages performed out of state. A total of one hour …

Source: Wall Street Journal.

Wikipedia is calling it a few hours early. (Tipped by JMG reader Daddy Ray)

NOTE: I’ve swapped out the earlier incorrect tweet.

Embiggen the above map from Freedom To Marry and marvel at this year’s progress. As seen in the graphic below, even more action is coming early in 2015.

Via the Associated Press: The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American Alan Gross and the freeing of …

JMG reader Jay Sheckley has sent us an alternative map to the Wikipedia version posted here several times a week in recent months. Embiggen for the details.

Map legend.

Map legend.