Tag: gay marriage

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Luxembourg to approve marriage equality by summer

From GayStarNews:

Justice Minister Félix Braz announced the news this week, saying he hoped it would be finally made law after years of delays.

Drawn up by the former government in 2010, the same-sex marriage draft law was due to be voted on late last year. But following a change of government in October, the vote was postponed.

Same-sex couples have only been able to mark their union under a PACS – based on French civil unions – meaning they have less rights and are unable to jointly adopt children.

While a small European nation, it is the first to have an openly gay Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister serving at the same time.

If approved, Luxembourg will be the 11th European country to recognize same-sex marriage, joining Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

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Utah: Gov. Herbert instructs state agencies to NOT recognize same-sex marriages in Utah

Utah governor Gary Herbert’s office late Tuesday informed state agencies that marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in the state are not valid, and to not to recognize those marriages until the courts advise otherwise.

From the letter signed by Gov. Herbert’s chief of staff:

With the district court injunction now stayed, the original laws governing marriage in Utah return to effect pending final resolution by the courts. It is important to understand that those laws include not only a prohibition of performing same-sex marriages but also recognizing same-sex marriages.

Based on counsel from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the Supreme Court decision, state recognition of same-sex marital status is ON HOLD until further notice. Please understand this position is not intended to comment on the legal status of those same-sex marriages – that is for the courts to decide. The intent of this communication is to direct state agency compliance with current laws that prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages.

Read the full letter here.

The legal ramifications on this decision are wide-ranging.

(via LGBTQ Nation)

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New Mexico Governor Martinez: Same-sex marriage is the law of the land

Unlike the state officials in Utah, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez says in light of the recent state supreme court decision in her state, she won’t support or seek an amendment to ban gay marriage in the state.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports:

Martinez said several times last summer — when several county clerks across the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples — that she believed state voters should decide the issue by way of a ballot question on whether to amend the state constitution.

“I think what I said before was that yes, the people should have decided on it, but the Supreme Court has decided,” the governor said Monday when asked by a reporter about the issue. “And it’s now the law of the land.”

Asked whether that meant she wouldn’t push for the Legislature to pass a measure like Sen. Bill Sharer’s Senate Joint Resolution 6, Martinez responded, “It’s the law of the land. The Supreme Court has spoken.”

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US Supreme Court issues stay on marriage equality in Utah

Via SCOTUSblog:

The Supreme Court on Monday morning put on hold a federal judge’s decision striking down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage, thus stopping a wave of such marriages across the state.

The Court’s order reinstates the state ban and will keep it intact until after a federal appeals court has ruled on it.

The order appeared to have the support of the full Court, since there were no noted dissents.

The ruling can be interpreted as an indication that the Court wants to have further exploration in lower courts of the basic constitutional question of state power to limit marriage to a man and a woman.

Had it refused the state’s request for delay, that would have at least left the impression that the Court was comfortable allowing same-sex marriages to go forward in the 33 states where they are still banned.

The Tenth Circuit of Appeals court has agreed to take up the issue on an expedited basis. State officials’ opening brief must be filed by Jan. 27. The response from attorneys for gay couples is due Feb. 18, and state officials have a chance to respond to that filing by Feb. 25.

We’re looking at months here, kids.

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Editorial of the day: “The tide has turned. Time for Utah to turn with it”

From the editors of the Salt Lake Tribune:

Same-sex attraction, far from being unnatural, has been around since the dawn of time, and in recent decades mainstream America has come to accept it as something other than deviant. The American Psychiatric Association has considered homosexuality a normal sexual variation, not a mental disorder, since 1973. The Supreme Court in 2003 made same-sex sexual activity legal in every state, and then last June the court took that step of saying same-sex couples have a due-process right to marry. Younger people by and large take a more libertarian view of same-sex relationships, and that is what has fueled the nation’s shift since Utah passed its ban in 2004.

There are 32 states with laws still in effect banning gay marriage, but only one state has passed such a law since 2006. Since that time seven state legislatures have passed laws to allow same-sex marriage, and three more states did so through popular vote. Court decisions have struck down the laws in another seven states, including Utah. One of those states is California, where state officials stopped defending their same-sex marriage ban when it became obvious where the future lies. Utah’s ban passed with 66 percent of voters approving it, but it’s a legitimate question whether it would pass today if another election were held. Even the LDS Church has gone from actively participating in the marriage wars to simply explaining its own beliefs and practices.

The tide has turned. It’s time for Utah to turn with it.

(h/t JMG)

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Still no SCOTUS request for stay of marriage equality in Utah

https://twitter.com/BenWinslow/status/417718465990905856

At this point, you have to wonder what could justify a request for an “emergency stay” against marriage equality when clearly the Utah Atty General’s office is taking so much time to prepare.

How much of an “emergency” could there be if there’s this much foot-dragging?

Answer?  There is no emergency.

Forward.

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New Mexico’s largest newspaper to anti-gay opponents: It’s time to move on

In an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal, the editors urge those still opposed to marriage equality in New Mexico to “move on:”

The reality is that same-sex marriage is here to stay. In the past few years, it has gained wide support, reflecting a changing U.S. society that is more tolerant of different lifestyle choices and a growing consensus that allowing people of the same sex to marry is the right thing to do.

[snip]

The state Supreme Court has concluded that all people, no matter their sexual orientation, should be treated equally under the law when it comes to the right to marry. It’s time to recognize that and move on.

Thoughtful and balanced, you can read the rest of the article here.

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Pew poll: Majority of Americans support marriage equality

According to Pew Research Center, just over half (51%) of the public now favors same-sex marriage, while 42% are opposed.  Sixty-seven percent believe gays and lesbians deserve equal rights.

Please note the direction of the graph lines over the past ten years.  The lines show growth in one direction. 

Brian Brown – are you paying attention?

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Utah sees record numbers of marriage licenses issued

The Salt Lake Tribune has the details:

As of close of business Thursday, more than 1,225 marriage licenses had been issued in Utah since last Friday, according to numbers obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune. Of those, at least 74 percent were issued to gay and lesbian couples.

That’s more than 905 same-sex couples who received marriage licenses in a week punctuated by holidays and limited — in some counties — by when their clerk began to adhere to U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby’s order.

With an average marriage license costing $40, counties in Utah made a grand total of more than $49,000 in the three-and-a-half days most county clerk’s offices were open this week.

About three-quarters of that money came from gay and lesbian couples seeking marriage licenses.