Tag: Arkansas

Posted on

Arkansas: Federal judge rules state ban on marriage equality is unconstitutional – does NOT issue stay on ruling

Today, a federal judge in Arkansas declared the state’s ban on marriage equality to be unconstitutional.

On top of that, the judge did NOT issue a stay on the ruling.  Although country clerks offices were closed by the time of the ruling, expect a flood of applicants first thing Monday morning.

From the Arkansas Times:

Circuit Judge Chris Piazza today invalidated the Arkansas ban on same-sex marriage and recognition of marriages legally entered by same-sex couples in other states.

An appeal is expected.

The judge did not stay his ruling, though the state probably can be expected to request a stay.

Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane said he’d be ready with software to issue gender-netural marriage licenses Monday morning.

The lawsuit challenged both the state constitution and statutory bans. Piazza’s 13-page ruling struck down both statute and constitutional ban. He noted that tradition wasn’t sufficient to continue a bar to interracial marriage.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued this statement after the ruling: “We respect the Court’s decision, but, in keeping with the Attorney General’s obligation to defend the state constitution, we will appeal. We will request that Judge Piazza issue a stay of his ruling so as not to create confusion or uncertainty about the law while the Supreme Court considers the matter.”

AG McDaniel has expressed his support of marriage equality recently, but has said he will defend the law as he sees it to be his obligation.

One very important part of the judge’s opinion comes in the final paragraph of the ruling:

“It has been over forty years since Mildred Loving was given the right to marry the person of her choice. The hatred and fears have long since vanished and she and her husband lived full lives together; so it will be for the same-sex couples.

“It is time to let that beacon of freedom shine brighter on all our brothers and sisters. We will be stronger for it.”

Bolding mine 🙂

Celebrate kids! Happy Dance Time!

Posted on

Arkansas Attorney General supports marriage equality

Arkansas attorney general Dustin McDaniel said today he supports marriage equality but will continue to defend his state’s ban on same-sex marriage in court, the Associated Press reports.

“I want to tell you I do support marriage equality and I do believe Arkansans should have the right to be equal in the eyes of the law,” McDaniel said in a speech at the AP managing editors convention. After the speech, he explained to an AP reporter, “I’m going to zealously defend our constitution, but at the same time I think it’s important to let people where I stand on the matter.”

Arkansas voters passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004. That amendment is currently being challenged in a state court, and a ruling is expected by Friday.

McDaniel’s comments make him the first statewide official in Arkansas to back marriage equality.

(via Advocate.com)

Posted on

Marriage equaity ruling in Arkansas to be issued by next Friday

According to the Washington Blade, Judge Chris Piazza will issue his ruling on the marriage equality case in Arkansas by next Friday:

In a notice dated May 1 to attorneys in the case, Summer McCoy, a law clerk for the Pulaski County Circuit Court, says Judge Chris Piazza will take an addition week to consider the issue, then make a decision.

“Judge Piazza has asked me to notify you that he would like to take an additional week to consider the case law, briefs of parties, and arguments of counsel,” McCoy writes. “He feels confident that he will have a ruling for the parties no later than Friday, May 9th.”

The clerk doesn’t say whether the judge is inclined to rule one way or another on marriage equality when he makes his decision.

Posted on

Human Rights Campaign launches Southern initiative – Project One America

Based on the fact that people are far less inclined to oppose equal rights for gays and lesbians when they know someone who is gay, the Human Rights Campaign will begin a three state project involving “front porch visits” and one-on-one chats in an effort to develop a more open environment for people of all sexual orientations in the South.

Via HRC press release:

Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Project One America (POA), a comprehensive campaign to dramatically expand LGBT equality in the South through permanent campaigns in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. This substantial and lasting initiative—with a three year budget of $8.5 million and a dedicated staff of 20—is the largest coordinated campaign for LGBT equality in the history of the South.

“Right now, this country is deeply divided into two Americas—one where LGBT equality is nearly a reality and the other where LGBT people lack the most fundamental measures of equal citizenship. Project One America is an unparalleled effort to close that gap, and it opens up a bold, new chapter in the LGBT civil rights movement of this generation. In this grand struggle for equality, we can’t write off anyone, anywhere,” said HRC President and Arkansas native Chad Griffin.

Project One America is the very first campaign of its kind to work exclusively on LGBT equality in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas—where there are no non-discrimination protections for LGBT people at the state or local level in employment, housing or public accommodations, and where each state’s constitution expressly prohibits marriage equality.

“Despite the legal landscape, it’s long past time that the country stopped treating the South like the ‘finish line’ for equality. HRC has more than 57,000 members and supporters in these states, and there are millions more fair-mined people ready to stand on the right side of history,” Griffin said.

Posted on

Judge to rule on Arkansas same-sex marriage ban within two weeks

Judge Chris Piazza

After hearing oral arguments on a challenge to Arkansas’ ban on marriage equality yesterday, Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said he would rule within two weeks.

From the Arkansas News Bureau:

Twenty-one same-sex Arkansas couples — and one woman seeking a divorce from a woman she married in New York — allege in a lawsuit that Amendment 83 to the Arkansas Constitution, which was approved by voters in 2004 and defines marriage as between one man and one woman, violates rights guaranteed under both the state and federal constitutions.

The state attorney general’s office maintains that banning same-sex marriage preserves state interests and does not violate any fundamental rights.

Jack Wagoner, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, said during Thursday’s hearing that since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman in the U.S. v. Windsor case last year, 18 federal and state court decisions have been issued addressing the issue of equality based on sexual orientation, and all have been decided in favor of equality.

“When the government is in the marriage business, same-sex couples have to be treated the same,” Wagoner said during arguments. “The fact that they’ve been historically discriminated against is less reason to have laws targeting them.”

(via Towleroad)

Posted on

Arkansas High School refuses to include gay profile in yearbook

Taylor Ellis, a high school student in Sheridan, Ark., says administrators refuse to include an interview/profile in the school’s yearbook because of his sexual orientation.

The Yellowjacket, Sheridan High School’s yearbook, wrote six profiles of students to run in the yearbook. One of the short features chronicled Ellis’s coming-out story.

Ellis said he wants to get his story out there and he doesn’t understand the problem with printing it. Ellis said Principal Rodney Williams called him a few weeks ago, citing concerns that the story was too personal and that it put Ellis at risk of being bullied.

Now the Human Rights Campaign has addressed the matter. In a letter to the Sheridan School District, HRC President Chad Griffin addressed the issue at hand:

“If not resolved immediately, this act of discriminatory censorship will send a dangerous message to all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in Sheridan, across Arkansas and around the nation — that they are second-class citizens and their lives are not equally valid. Instead of respecting the wishes of Taylor’s fellow students to recognize him in their yearbook, you have told him and other students who may already feel marginalized that they are not an equally valued part of the Sheridan high school student body.

“As an Arkansas native and a former elementary school student in Sheridan, I was taught the Golden Rule – about treating others as we would like to be treated. Whatever you may say about your intentions, it does not change the fact that you have failed to uphold these values that all fair-minded Arkansans share. Addressing bullying requires stopping bullies, not muzzling harmless free expression.”

Sheridan School District Superintendent Brenda Haynes responded in a statement to the Arkansas News:

“We must make decisions that lead in the proper direction for all of our students and for our community. We must not make decisions based on demands by any special interest group. The seven profiles will not be published in the yearbook…It is clear that the adults who have the responsibility for the operation of the district have the obligation to make decisions which are consistent with the mission of our school. We have done so.”

Watch the news report from CBS News below:

(source)

Posted on

Arkansas: Shirtless Lambda Chi Alpha brothers make Katy Perry “Roar” video in the snow

So what do the brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha at the University of Arkansas do with a snow day?

Drink?

Study?

Drink more?

Answer – Why, make a Katy Perry “Roar” video, of course.

I know, I know… No one wants to see shirtless frat guys playing in the snow and generally having a great time 🙂

Who am I kidding? Hit the play button.

Posted on

Arkansas Attorney General approves marriage equality petition language

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel yesterday approved the wording for a petition drive to place marriage equality to a public vote in 2016. The wording for the new petition would repeal the 2004 ban and make marriage equality legal:

McDaniel’s office certified the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment submitted by the Arkansas Initiative for Marriage Equality.

McDaniel’s certification is required before the group can pursue the 78,133 signatures from registered voters needed to place the proposal on the ballot.

“We’re all ready to go, full steam ahead,” said Jack Weir, the group’s founder, who said he hoped to begin gathering signatures soon. “We couldn’t be more happy.”

The proposal approved Thursday would also repeal the marriage amendment, which was approved by voters in 2004, and would instead recognize marriage as a “union between two people regardless of sex.” It would also prohibit county clerks from denying marriage licenses to couples based on their sex. Under the measure, clergy and religious organizations would not be obligated to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Posted on

Arkansas: Gay couple file lawsuit for marriage equality

Arkansas couple files lawsuit for marriage equality:

Several LGBT couples have taken a stand against Arkansas Amendment 83, saying that the amendment denies them the benefits and privileges given to married heterosexual couples.

The lawsuit filed against the state of Arkansas declares that while the US Supreme Court recognized marriage as one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ the Arkansas Constitution prevents gay marriage from being recognized. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit said the amendment is unconstitutional and violates their fundamental rights.

“These are the constitutional arguments to make,” said University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law Professor Terri Beiner. “Now, whether they’ll be successful or not, we’ll just have to wait to see what the courts do with it.”