Tag: gay marriage

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New Jersey readies for wedding business boom thanks to marriage equality

Even though it was just this past Friday that the NJ Supreme Court refused to stop marriage equality from beginning on Monday morning, many businesses are already seeing calls and orders for wedding services.

In fact, some economists are predicting a surge of as much as $94 million over the next three years could flood into the New Jersey economy thanks to marriage equality.

Luigi Ficarra, a Maplewood caterer, has already received over a dozen calls to handle same-sex weddings over the next few weeks.

More from NJ.com:

Barry Herman, owner of Barry Herman Entertainment in Livingston, a company that books wedding bands and DJs, said his company has received five calls from same-sex couples.

“There’s always been a market for commitment parties, but now it may become a bigger market since it is different than a commitment party. It’s a wedding,” said Herman.

North Bergen wedding photographer Leslie Barbaro is also anticipating a boom in business. “I got a bump when gay marriage was legalized in Delaware,” she said. “Over the past two years I’ve photographed some very emotional same-sex weddings in Delaware and New York and I’m looking forward to being able to do the same in my home state.”

And many businesses are promoting the fact that they’ve always been happy to serve their customers, whether gay or straight. Check out this bakery in the video below already looking forward to contributing to same-sex weddings.

Congrats New Jersey!

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BREAKING: New Jersey Supreme Court to hear marriage equality case

All of a sudden, marriage equality is heading to the New Jersey state Supreme Court.

From the AP:

The state’s highest court on Friday agreed to hear a case on whether gay marriage should be legal and whether same-sex weddings can be performed while it decides.

A lower-court judge ruled last month that the state must legalize same-sex marriage starting Oct. 21, but Gov. Chris Christie’s administration said in a court filing Friday that a single judge should not be able to force New Jersey to do so.

The argument was included in a brief the state submitted in support of its emergency appeal after a state judge refused to delay her order that New Jersey legalize same-sex marriage as of Oct. 21.

“To overhaul such an ancient social institution prematurely, precipitously, or in a manner ultimately deemed unnecessary would injure not only the public interest, but the State that represents this interest,” the state attorney general’s office said in its brief.

The state Supreme Court accepted the case Friday, skipping the normal course of letting an appeals court hear it first. Oral arguments were scheduled for January.

The issue at hand is that the state Supreme Court ruled years ago that New Jersey had to offer at least “equal” rights regarding marital status to LGBT couples. New Jersey passed civil unions as a compromise, but now with DOMA gone civil unions are now not “equal” to marriage because the Federal government doesn’t recognize civil unions as “marriage.”

A few steps will happen here:

1. The plaintiffs – the couples suing New Jersey – have until Tuesday to respond through their lawyers.
2. The NJ Supreme Court may place a stay on the October 21st date to begin marriage equality. Or they may not. We shall see.
3. The Supreme Court would then hear oral arguments on the full case beginning January 6 or 7.

Stay tuned.

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Marriage News Watch – October 10, 2013

Anti-gay politicians are pushing back against recent high-profile victories for equality, but they’re just delaying the inevitable.

Lawsuits progress in some more conservative states.

Plus more good news in state and national surveys:

• 57% of Nevadans support repeal of same-sex marriage ban
• 55% of Americans support marriage equality

It’s been three and a half years since anti-marriage equality folks saw any poll with their side over 50%.

The trend is clear, kids.

Forward.

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Marine from viral “kiss pic” marries his boyfriend in New York state

We all remember the above image of Marine Sgt. Brandon Morgan returning from Afghanistan to Hawaii and jumping into partner Dalan Wells’ arms for a kiss seen around the world.

Yesterday, Brandon and Dalan got married in a small ceremony in the western region of New York.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Marine Sgt. Brandon Morgan returning from Afghanistan and jumping into partner Dalan Wells' arms for a kiss seen around the world.

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Supreme Court Justice Scalia: “I haven’t expressed my view about gay marriage”

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said on Thursday he has not given his views on the constitutionality of gay marriage itself.

“I haven’t expressed my view about gay marriage,” Scalia, a noted conservative said, adding that the decision itself only applied to a narrow piece of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

“The issue in the DOMA case was not whether the Constitution requires states to allow gay marriage. That was not the question at all,” Scalia said at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, outside Boston. “The question is whether Congress can define marriage in all of the statues that Congress enacted to mean only marriage between a man and a woman.”

In his dissenting opinion on that ruling, Scalia, who was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, wrote that the majority ignored procedural obstacles he said should have prevented the court from taking up the matter in the first place.

Scalia does expect to see the issue back before SCOTUS.

“I’m waiting for the second shoe to drop,” said Scalia, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Supreme Court

(via Reuters)

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Labor Department says same-sex married couples entitled to employment/pension benefits

The effects of repealing DOMA continue to show up as the Labor Department steps up with new guidance on employment benefits:

The Labor Department now says that same-sex married couples are entitled to the same employment benefits as straight married couples regardless of where they live. What this means is that your spouse can now participate in your company’s retirement plan, such as a 401K plans.

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez called the ruling a “historic step forward.” Previously, Perez had hedged on whether the ruling from the Labor Department, which regulates private retirement plans, would apply in states that hadn’t legalized marriage equality. The new ruling clears that up.

“By providing greater clarity on how the Supreme Court’s decision affects one of the laws we enforce, we are contributing to greater equality and greater protection for America’s working families,” EBSA Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi said.

The guidance does make note that these provisions are reserved for married couples, not those in civil unions or domestic partnerships.

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Why Illinois shouldn’t have to wait for marriage equality

Robb and Steve had been together since Christmas Day 2011 and entered into a civil union in Illinois in January 2013. While 13 other states enacted marriage equality but Illinois did not, Steve developed Stage 3 Melanoma and grew seriously ill. By the time it became clear how sick Steve was, it was too late for the couple even to travel out-of-state to get married. Steve died last week – on September 10th, 2013. He was 32.

Says Robert:

“He wanted one thing in his whole life and that was to get married and he didn’t get it. And he will never get it now. And I don’t think they realize that we’re real people. Thousands of us have probably missed out just in Illinois. I don’t understand the problem. People are dying without being equal. Civil unions are not marriage. A different title does not mean it’s the same thing. You have a group of people that you call something different and yes, everybody’s gonna think they’re different. And we’re not, really.”

Just one among many reasons why marriage equality is important and cannot wait any longer.

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Brian Brown: Boycotts shut down 1st Amendment Rights (except when we do it)

“Did you know that Starbucks was recently reported to be perceived as the most LGBT-friendly brand in the U.S.? JC Penney, Target, Apple and Amazon round out the top five.

“If you’ve been following the national marriage battle over the past 18 months this should come as no surprise.

“Starbucks has said that gay ‘marriage’ is one of its corporate values. Target and JC Penny both support gay ‘marriage’ and the homosexual lifestyle in general, as does Apple.

“We only vote at a ballot box once a year at most. But we vote with our wallets every day. That’s why NOM maintains its Corporate Fairness Project – which includes the Dump Starbucks, Dump General Mills, and Thank Chick-fil-A initiatives – to inform you of what companies are taking active stands in the marriage battle, and where your money is best spent in defense of this sacred institution.” – Certified hate group leader Brian Brown, writing for NOM’s blog.