Osmond family to host anti-gay marriage rally at Utah State Capitol
Starbucks CEO defends marriage equality support to applause
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, at the company’s annual meeting in Seattle, defended his company’s support of same-sex marriage to a disgruntled share holder.
From KPLU:
At the company’s annual meeting Wednesday, shareholder Tom Strobhar suggested that the boycott had indeed bled the company of value.
“In the first fill quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earrings — shall we say politely — were a bit disappointing,” he said.
CEO Howard Schultz shot back that the decision to back gay marriage was not about the bottom line, but about respecting diversity. He said the company had delivered a healthy return last year, boycott or no.
“If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much,” he said, to loud applause from the audience.
Excuse me while I run to Starbucks to buy something…
To the US Supreme Court – “History is Watching”
From GetEqual.
Text of the video:
Since the birth of our nation, people held down by prejudice and discrimination have always moved slowly but inevitably toward justice and equality.
And throughout our history, the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States have been called upon to issue the critical rulings ensuring that our founding principles of justice and equality are delivered to those long denied them.
After centuries of injustice, countless generations lived in closets, through the watershed of Stonewall, the rise of Pride, the fight AGAINST AIDS, the fall of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and the demand that our relationships and our lives be shown the respect they deserve, the great weight of history has brought us to the doorstep of the Supreme Court. An unstoppable TIDAL wave is about to sweep over OUR NATION as our history and THOSE OF OUR JUSTICES WILL come together, forever united.
Major civil rights decisions are the most famous in the history of the court. The justices that MAKE the inevitable ruling of national marriage equality will secure their legacy’s forever. We have brought to your doorstep and laid at your feet your opportunity to craft one of the defining decisions of civil rights law for our republic, and with it, to define your legacy in history. If you let this opportunity slip away by ruling anything less than full national marriage equality, you will only be giving some future court the recognition for having done it. You have in your hands the power to bring to fruition decades of a people’s struggle for equality, and with it the opportunity of a jurist’s career to forever mark your name in our evolving understanding of the Constitution AND OUR COUNTRY’S PROMISE OF LIFE, LIBERTY & PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS FOR ALL.
Our equality will come. The only question is who will deliver it.
Equality is waiting…
History is watching…
For more info go to www.lighttojustice.org
NY Times: American Academy of Pediatrics supports same-sex marriage
The New York Times is reporting today that the nation’s most influential pediatrics group has announced it’s support for marriage equality and full adoption rights.
From the Times:
The academy’s new policy statement says same-sex marriage helps guarantee rights, benefits and long-term security for children, while acknowledging that it does not now ensure access to federal benefits. When marriage is not an option, the academy said, children should not be deprived of foster care or adoption by single parents or couples, whatever their sexual orientation.
The academy’s review of scientific literature began more than four years ago, and the result is a 10-page report with 60 citations.
“If the studies are different in their design and sample but the results continue to be similar, that gives scientists and consumers more faith in the result,” said Dr. Ellen Perrin, a co-author of the new policy and a professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Read the full article at the New York Times.
Tweet of the day: President Barack Obama on marriage equality
This is my President.
Santa Fe: Press conference on marriage equality resolution
As I wrote yesterday, the mayor of Santa Fe, David Coss, and Councilor Patti Bushee, have announced that they have looked at the laws and constitution of New Mexico and found that there is nothing in New Mexico state law that prohibits same-sex marriage.
Here’s video of Coss’s press conference yesterday, along with Councilor Patti Bushee and City Attorney Geno Zamora.
They announced they will introduce a resolution at the next city council meeting on March 27th stating that marriage equality is legal in New Mexico.
Excerpt from Zamora’s speech:
“Currently, today, under the existing laws on the books…same-sex marriage is legal. This argument consists of four points.
First and most importantly, New Mexico does not define same-sex marriage as a marriage between a man and a woman. These statutes define it as gender neutral between two parties.
Secondly, New Mexico validly recognizes same-sex marriage from other states.
Third, under New Mexico statue, a marriage license is not permitted to be denied based on the sex of the couple.
Finally, we have a New Mexico constitution that guarantees equal rights on the basis of sex. To deny equal rights to same-sex partners is to violate the New Mexico constitution.
Same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico. It’s legal for our brothers and sisters, for our parents, for our nephews and nieces, and for our friends.”
Nevada: Early steps taken to repeal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage
Nevada legislators have begun the long road of repealing the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.
From the Las Vegas Sun:
Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, introduced a Senate Joint Resolution that would repeal the section of Nevada’s constitution that says “only a marriage between a male and female person shall be recognized.”
Here’s what has to happen:
1. The state legislature has to approve the measure this year
2. The state legislature would have to approve the measure again in 2015
3. The resolution would have to be put on the ballot in 2016
4. If the state voters repeal the constitutional amendment, then lawmakers would THEN have to work towards a bill that would LEGALIZE marriage equality.
But here’s the thing: time is going to go on no matter what. And, at least, the process has been introduced. Nevada does have domestic partnerships to help offer some legal protections for LGBT couples, which is at least something.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is already marketing specifically to gay and lesbian couples. Adding weddings to the mix could be an economic boon for Nevada.
“We’re already a huge destination for weddings anyway,” Shinn said. “If we could expand to the LGBT community, we would benefit.”
A recent poll by the Retail Association of Nevada last month shows support for same-sex marriage and repeal of the “Protection of Marriage” clause in the state constitution. The poll shows that 54 percent of Nevadans favor repeal while 43 percent oppose.
Finland: Marriage equality supporters successfully gather signatures needed to send issue back to Parliament
Early this month Finland’s marriage equality bill died in committee. However – the public was not happy with that result and have taken action:
A drive to gather the 50,000 signatories required to take a gender-neutral marriage bill to Parliament reached its target in just one day. The accumulation of the required support means that lawmakers must now consider a bill which was previously blocked at the committee stage.
Members of the public rushed to support the “I Do 2013” campaign, which was launched Tuesday to gather the 50,000 signatures required to compel parliament to consider legalising same-sex marriages. Public enthusiasm for the petition was so great that the civic proposal website crashed as a result of the overwhelming demand.
Finland is the only Nordic country that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
7 Days to SCOTUS oral arguments
Poll: Support for marriage equality at all-time high
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll reveals that support for marriage equality is now at 58% – a new high:
• The poll shows that 58 percent of Americans now believe it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to get married; 36 percent say it should be illegal. This is almost a complete reversal of public attitudes a decade ago: in 2003, 37 percent favored gay nuptials, and 55 percent opposed them…
• Among young adults age 18 to 29, support for gay marriage is overwhelming, hitting a record high of 81 percent in the new poll. Support has also been increasing among older adults, but those aged 65 years old and up remain opposed, on balance: 44 percent say same-sex marriage should be legal; 50 percent say illegal…
• A slim majority of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents under 50 years old now support gay marriage. Nearly seven in 10 of those aged 65 and up oppose it, although that is down from more than eight in 10 just four years ago.
• In addition, the belief that being gay is a choice seems to be fading; only 24% think people choose to be gay.
Read more at ABC News