LGBTQ news and entertainment
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear 6 gay marriage cases whose outcome could affect the laws in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Michigan.
The Kentucky and Michigan cases involve the right to marry, while the Ohio and Tennessee cases focus on the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states.
Check back here throughout the day for updates as the cases are presented.
U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn II ruled today that the state of Kentucky must allow same-sex marriage.
Via Chris Geidner at Buzzfeed:
“The ability to marry in one’s state is arguably much more meaningful, to those on both sides of the debate, than the recognition of a marriage performed in another jurisdiction,” U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn II wrote. “But it is for that very reason that the Court is all the more confident in its ruling today.”
He ruled that “to the extent Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 402.005 and .020(1)(d) and Section 233A of the Kentucky Constitution deny same-sex couples the right to marry in Kentucky, they violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and they are void and unenforceable.”
This is the 23rd consecutive ruling in favor of marriage equality since last summer’s decision by the US Supreme Court which gutted the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act.
The judge did issue a stay on the ruling pending the upcoming appeal. So, no same-sex marriages for now.
Back in February, the same judge ruled that same-sex marriages performed in other states had to be recognized by the state. The Governor of Kentucky, Steve Beshear, has already filed an appeal with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and will see oral arguments for that case sometime in August.
Freedom to Marry founder and president Evan Wolfson issued this statement:
Today a Republican-appointed federal judge in Kentucky held – as have more than 20 other judges and as did the U.S. Supreme Court last year – that discriminatory state marriage bans are unconstitutional. It is wrong for the government to deny same-sex couples the freedom to marry the person they love; a freedom that is part of every American’s liberty and pursuit of happiness. Today’s ruling in Kentucky underscores that America — all of America — is ready for the freedom to marry, and the Supreme Court should bring the country to national resolution as soon as possible.”
(via Buzzfeed)
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who announced in March he would not defend his state’s gay marriage ban in an appeal of a federal court’s ruling, has announced he will run for office of governor in 2015.
In an interview with the AP, Conway said he isn’t concerned that his pro-equality stance may hurt his chances in the conservative state. As public opinion continues to shift in favor of gay marriage, Conway said Kentucky voters will tire of rehashing the debate come November 2015.
“I think in the fall of 2015 that will not be the big issue,” he said. “I think the voters will be more interested in building Kentucky’s future than in reliving all of that.”
Conway’s refusal to defend the ban led to Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear hiring private attorneys to appeal the gay marriage ruling.
And speaking of those private attorneys…
A brief filed by the attorneys for Gov. Beshear contends that the state has a legitimate interest in preserving “man-woman” marriage, because only that union can result in procreation. And procreation, the state argues, is essential to maintaining a stable birth rate; if that declined, the state would be placed in economic peril.
The “procreation” argument was directly addressed in the February ruling from a district judge that found Kentucky’s existing marriage laws unconstitutional.
“Kentucky does not require proof of procreative ability to have an out-of-state marriage recognized,” wrote U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn in his February ruling, which this latest brief looks to appeal. “The exclusion of same-sex couples on procreation grounds makes just as little sense as excluding post-menopausal [heterosexual] couples or infertile couples on procreation grounds.”
The AP is reporting that Kentucky’s Attorney General has issued a statement saying the state will NOT appeal the recent ruling saying the state must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states:
Attorney General Jack Conway’s decision means same-sex couples in Kentucky who were married in other states will be allowed to pursue name changes, file joint tax returns with the state, and seek to have names added to birth certificates.
The Democrat said at a news conference that if he appealed, “I would be defending discrimination. That I will not do.”
Happy Dance Time!
UPDATE: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced he’ll hire other counsel to represent the state in the case, known as Bourke vs. Beshear, in regard to appealing the district court decision against the marriage ban the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“General Conway has advised me that he will no longer represent the Commonwealth in Bourke vs. Beshear,” Beshear said. “The State will hire other counsel to represent it in this case, and will appeal Judge Heyburn’s decision to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and ask the court to enter a stay pending appeal.”
Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2010, has come out on her blog as queer in response to last month’s court ruling that Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
“I am queer,” wrote Djuan Trent on in a recent post on her blog, Life in 27. She then reported hearing many antigay comments in the wake of the federal judge’s ruling. “What has prompted my writing today has been my questioning people’s constant assumption that a) I am hetero and b) I concur with their views,” she said.
It’s obvious to people who meet her that she’s black and a woman, she commented, “but sometimes, I forget to put the ‘QUEER’ stamp on my forehead on my way out the door in the mornings. So, on the mornings that I forget my stamp, I have realized that there is really no way for people to know that I disagree with their views or, even more so, to know that they are talking about me, unless I actually open my mouth and say it.”
In the end of the blog post, she expresses her gratitude for finally finding the courage to come out.
Thank you for giving me the courage to change my “they” to “we”, “them” to “us”, and “their” to “our.” You have given me the courage to speak up and speak out when I forget my “QUEER” stamp in the mornings. And I can only hope, that I might inspire someone else in that same way.
(via SheWired)
For the time being, same-sex marriages performed outside of Kentucky must now be recognized in that state.
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn today made final a ruling issued earlier this month in which he found that Kentucky’s marriage amendment and statutes violate the right to equal protection under the law.
“Those laws … are void and unenforceable,” he said in a one page order.
Earlier today, Attorney General Jack Conway’s office asked Heyburn to stay enforcement of his ruling, but Heyburn did not address that motion and for now his ruling goes into effect.
Kentucky’s Attorney General could decide to NOT appeal the decision. Conway’s motion asked for the delay to give that office time to decide whether to appeal the Feb. 12 ruling and would give the state an opportunity to prepare to implement the order.
Some are betting AG Conway may join the six other state AG’s in not defending or appealing such rulings.
While awaiting final orders from U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II on his ruling that Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages from out of state, the Attorney General has requested a 90 day delay:
The two-page filing Thursday morning says the delay is sought to give the attorney general time to decide whether to appeal the Feb. 12 ruling and would give the state an opportunity to prepare to implement the order.
The request came as parties in the case were awaiting a final order from U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II overturning part of Kentucky’s same-sex marriage ban.
Earlier this month, Heyburn concluded that the ban, which has been in place since 2004, treated “gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”
Heyburn had indicated earlier that his final orders would not include a stay on the ruling.
Brian Brown, president of the anti-gay hate group National Organization for Marriage, issued this statement today after a federal judge ruled Kentucky’s ban on recognition of same-sex marriages from other states was unconstitutional based on the 14th Amendment:
“Today yet another federal judge has entered the competition for lawlessness on the marriage front,” said Brian Brown, NOM President.
“Today’s decision emphasizes the need for Congressional action to prevent our states’ marriage laws from spiraling further into chaos.
“Congress needs to explicitly reinforce the sovereign right of the states to make their own determinations regarding marriage, and to have those determinations respected by the federal government-which would include having those determinations protected from coerced modification through dubious readings of the 14th amendment such as we have here.”
I would suggest that, instead of “lawlessness,” perhaps the problem isn’t with the judges who rule over and over and over again on the unconstitutionality of these laws.
When so many courts cases (Prop 8; DOMA; marriage equality in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Utah) come to the same conclusion – maybe it’s not the judges.
Maybe, Brian Brown, the problem is you.
In light of the news today regarding same-sex marriage recognition in Kentucky, HRC President Chad Griffin issued the following statement:
“Today, this nation took another bold step toward its fundamental constitutional principles of equal justice under the law.
“This amendment is unconstitutional, and we believe the only true solution to the injustice faced by these plaintiffs is full marriage equality.
“We hope all parties act swiftly and fairly to allow all loving and committed Kentucky couples the opportunity to marry in the state they call home.”
This new marriage ruling is not final and is likely to be appealed, joining other federal court cases in Utah, Nevada, Ohio and Oklahoma—all of which are currently at the appellate level.
A federal judge has ruled that Kentucky’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages from other states in unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the US Constitution.
From the Courier-Journal:
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II joined nine other federal and state courts in invalidating such bans.
Ruling in a suit brought by four gay and lesbian couples, Heyburn said that while “religious beliefs … are vital to the fabric of society … assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law does not make it constitutional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons.”
Heyburn said “it is clear that Kentucky’s laws treat gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them.”
Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling throwing out the Defense of Marriage Act, Heyburn struck down the portion of Kentucky’s 2004 constitutional amendment that said “only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky.”
Heyburn did not rule that Kentucky must allow gay marriages to be performed in the state.
Bolding above is mine.
You can read the full ruling below:
Kentucky Gay Marriage Decision
(source)