Tag: California

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CA: Judge rules DOMA unconstitutional

From The Advocate: A federal judge in California has ruled a section of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in a case brought by a group of public employees whose same-sex spouses were denied long-term care insurance.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled late Thursday that Section 3 of DOMA, which bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages, violates the equal protection rights of the couples who sued both the federal government and the state’s California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).

In granting summary judgment to the public employees, Wilken ruled that DOMA and a provision in the federal tax code “are constitutionally invalid to the extent that they exclude Plaintiff same-sex spouses and registered domestic partners from enrollment in the CalPERS long-term care plan.”

Read more at The Advocate.

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California: Support for marriage equality continues to grow

Fifty-six percent of likely California voters now favor allowing same-sex couples to legally marry, according to a poll released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

The poll represents an increase in public support for the freedom to marry from an identically worded poll of likely voters conducted in September 2011 by Equality California, which marked support at 51%.

This news comes on the heels of a Field poll released last week that showing that support for marriage equality had reached as high as 59% among all California adults.

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Los Angeles Mayor: Democratic platform should include marriage equality

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, expressed his support for a marriage equality plank in the party platform in an interview with Politico.

Said Villaraigosa: “I do, I think it’s basic to who we are. I believe in family values and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.”

At least 18 senators have expressed support for adding marriage equality to the platform.  Freedom to Marry launched a campaign to that end last month.
(source)

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Support for marriage equality jumps in California

California registered voters now favor same-sex unions by 59 percent to 34 percent, a 25-point gap that is the largest margin of support for the issue in the three-plus decades the Field Poll has been asking the question.

The new Field survey shows support has leapt markedly in the three and a half years since California voters approved Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent.

The poll showed increases in support virtually across the board – among voters under 64, non-white voters, Catholics, Republicans and nonpartisans.

Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said the move to a 25-point gap goes beyond the gradual increase in support that has been expected as young voters age and “replace” older voters in the electorate.

“This is now showing that opinions are changing irrespective of generational replacement,” DiCamillo said. “This is real change.”

“The winds of change are blowing in other states (and) when judges start ruling the same way, I believe that has an influence,” he said.
(source)

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Prop 8 backers to ask 9th Circuit for larger panel ruling

The proponents of Proposition 8 intend to appeal for an en banc ruling from the full Ninth Circuit Court. Earlier this month a three-judge panel of Ninth Circuit members voted to uphold the overturn of Prop 8.  Now the haters want MORE 9th Circuit judges to hear an appeal.

Chris Geidner explains at Metro Weekly:

Usually, en banc review involves all of the active judges on the court, but the Ninth Circuit — due to the more than 20 active judges on the circuit — has adopted a unique “limited en banc” procedure in which all the active Ninth Circuit judges vote whether en banc consideration will be given. That will be the request made by today’s filing.

If a majority of the court supports en banc consideration, then the chief judge of the circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski, and 10 randomly selected appellate judges from the circuit will hear the en banc appeal, which can involve briefing and oral arguments.

After that decision is reached, theoretically, a party dissatisfied with an en banc ruling of the Ninth Circuit can ask for the full Ninth Circuit to review the en banc panel’s decision, but the court has not agreed to do so since adopting the “limited en banc” procedure.

The never ending saga continues…

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BREAKING: Federal Appeals Court finds Prop 8 unconstitutional

From Think Progress: In a 2 to 1 ruling, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed Judge Walker’s decision declaring that Proposition 8 violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution.

“Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently. There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted,” the ruling states.

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the majority opinion.

The court said gay marriages cannot resume in the state until the deadline passes for Proposition 8 sponsors to appeal to a larger panel of the 9th Circuit. If such an appeal is filed, gay marriages will remain on hold until it’s resolved.

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CA group has until May 14th to gather Prop 8 repeal signatures

A Los Angeles-based group called Love Honor Cherish has been cleared to collect the 807,615 voter signatures required to qualify its initiative for the November 2012 ballot, the secretary of state’s office said. The deadline for the petitions and signatures is May 14th.

The repeal initiative submitted by Love Honor Cherish would strike Proposition 8 and state instead “that marriage is between only two persons and shall not be restricted on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or religion,” according to a summary prepared by the California Attorney General’s office. It also contains language stating that clergy would not be required to perform marriages that violate their religious beliefs, if the initiative passes.

Prop 8 was passed in 2008 with 52% approval five months after the California Supreme Court legalized marriage equality.

LGBT activists are awaiting a ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on whether last year’s lower court decision that struck down Prop 8 will be upheld.

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Anti-Bullying ‘Seth’s Law’ Passes California Senate

From Care2.com: California’s senate lawmakers passed a bill last week that will require schools to specifically enact policies against bullying related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

The bill, known as AB 9 or Seth’s Law, passed the Senate in a 24 to 14 vote late Thursday. The California Assembly passed the bill in June on a 52-26 vote. The legislation now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. He is expected to sign the legislation.

AB 9 is designed to ensure that every school in California implements anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and programs that include actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, as well as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, disability, and religion. The law is also designed to give parents of children in California’s schools clearer knowledge of what to expect from school administrators when they are handling instances of bullying and ways of reporting concerns if parents think school administrators are not acting appropriately.

Seth’s Law is named after 13 year-old Seth Walsh who, because of pervasive anti-LGBT bullying, attempted suicide and died as a result of his injuries last year.

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Gov. Brown signs CA FAIR Education Act

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will fairly and accurately portray the LGBT civil rights movement and the historic contributions of the diverse LGBT community in social science instruction.

The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act (SB 48), by including fair and accurate information about the rich and diverse history of LGBT people in instructional materials, will enrich the learning experiences of all students and promote an atmosphere of safety and respect in California schools.

SB 48 was authored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and co-sponsored by Equality California and Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Studies have shown that inclusion of LGBT people in instructional materials is linked to greater student safety and lower rates of bullying.

In schools where the contributions of the LGBT community are included in educational instruction, bullying declined by over half and LGBT students were more likely to feel they have an opportunity to make positive contributions at school.

“Today marks a monumental victory for the LGBT civil rights movement as the contributions of diverse LGBT community will no longer be erased from history,” said Roland Palencia, Equality California executive director. “Thanks to the FAIR Education Act, California students, particularly LGBT youth, will find new hope and inspiration and experience a more welcoming learning environment that will embrace them.

Read more here.

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Motion to Vacate Prop 8 Decision: Denied

U.S. District Court Judge James Ware ruled today that the Aug. 4, 2010, decision by now-retired Judge Vaughn Walker striking down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional could not be vacated — as the proponents of Proposition 8 argued on Monday, June 13 — because Walker is gay and has a partner.

Judge Ware writes:
The presumption that Judge Walker, by virtue of being in a same-sex relationship, had a desire to be married that rendered him incapable of making an impartial decision, is as warrantless as the presumption that a female judge is incapable of being impartial in a case in which women seek legal relief.

On the contrary: it is reasonable to presume that a female judge or a judge in a same-sex relationship is capable of rising above any personal predisposition and deciding such a case on the merits.

During a Monday hearing on the matter, Judge Ware said that Prop. 8 supporters’ motion to vacate Walker’s judgment was the first time that a party had urged a jurist’s disqualification based on sexual orientation. He grilled attorney Charles J. Cooper, who argued that Walker had a duty to disclose his relationship, on what direct evidence existed that Judge Walker sought to marry his partner and thus personally benefit from a verdict favoring marriage equality.

No court has ever upheld the removal of a judge from a civil rights case because of his or her race, religion or gender, according to lawyers in the case.

In the end, Judge Ware decided “the Motion to Vacate Judgment on the sole ground of Judge Walker’s same-sex relationship is DENIED.”

Read more at the LA Times.

From here, we await a 9th Circuit Appeals court to decide whether to uphold Judge Walker’s decision or overturn it. That decision is on hold waiting for the CA Supreme Court to decide if those seeking to uphold Prop. 8 have “standing” to do so.

Stay tuned.