Tag: marriage equality

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NOM chair Jon Eastman has the sadz that National Cathedral will allow same-sex marriages

NOM Chair John Eastman calls the Episcopal Church “cavalier” for allowing same-sex marriages at the National Cathedral.

Says Eastman: “The step that [the National Cathedral] has taken… is directly in violation of international Anglican law and the Book of Common Prayer. So they can do this if they want but redefining marriage to be something it was never understood to be is going to have dramatic consequences both in this country and in their church… They should realize that their own doctrine says this is not proper.”

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Marriage News Watch – January 14, 2013

Clip description: “Big news coming this week from Rhode Island, where we may see the year’s first hearing on marriage equality. New lawmakers in Illinois and Colorado express eagerness to pass marriage and civil unions bills. Two lawsuits join forces in Hawaii and Nevada, plus one unlikely country that saw support for marriage double over the last decade.”

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Illinois: Business leaders and corporations show support for same-sex marriage

Dozens of Illinois business leaders and corporations are throwing their support behind a marriage equality bill expected to be addressed by the state legislature at the beginning of February, the Chicago Tribune reports:

In addition to Google, Orbitz Worldwide and Groupon, individual signers of the letter include Desiree Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing Co.; Lance Chody, CEO of Garrett Popcorn Shops; Fred Eychaner, chairman of the Newsweb Corp.; and Laura Ricketts, co-owner of the Chicago Cubs. Eychaner and Ricketts are openly gay executives who are helping fund the statewide push for same-sex marriage, the Tribune has reported.

The letter closes with this: “Illinois simply cannot afford to be less competitive than other states.”

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Paris: Thousands gather to protest same-sex marriage in France

Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Paris today in opposition to the same-sex marriage bill proposed by President Francois Hollande and his Socialist Party.

Organisers reserved five high-speed trains and 900 buses to bring protesters from provincial towns to the capital, some before dawn, to join Parisians and display the extent of the opposition that has built up in recent weeks. “Nobody expected this two or three months ago,” said Frigide Barjot, a flamboyant comedian leading the “Demo for All” she described as “multicultural, multireligious and multisexual.” Strongly backed by the Catholic hierarchy, lay activists have mobilised a coalition of church-going families, political conservatives, Muslims, evangelicals and even homosexuals opposed to gay marriage. “We want this draft law to be withdrawn,” Patricia Soullier, a protest organiser, told BFM-TV before boarding a Paris-bound train in Montpellier in the south of France. Hollande angered opponents of same-sex marriage by trying to avoid public debate on the reform, which Justice Minister Christiane Taubira described as “a change in civilisation”, and wavering about some of its details.

Reports vary in terms of the number of protesters that took part, with some press accounts estimating the crowd “in the tens of thousands” while the organizers say more than 800,000.

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Washington National Cathedral to host same-sex weddings

Same-sex weddings may be held at Washington National Cathedral effective immediately, according to an announcement from its dean, The Very Rev. Gary Hall:

Even though it is known that the Episcopal Church, a small but prominent part of American Christianity, has been supportive of equality for gay men and lesbians, “it’s something for us to say we are going to do this in this very visible space where we pray for the president and where we bury leaders,” said the Rev. Gary Hall, who became dean of Washington National Cathedral in the fall. “This national spiritual space is now a place where [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people can come and get married.”

As attention, political capital and lobbying dollars have been focused on fights over civil marriage, organized religion has been slow to embrace rights for same-sex couples. The vast majority of houses of worship don’t host blessings or weddings for people of the same gender. The Episcopal Church, with 2 million members, has been something of an exception, with leadership supporting the ordination of gay clergy and blessings for same-sex couples even as dozens of parishes broke with the denomination over the issue.

The Episcopal Diocese of Washington includes the city and its suburbs in Maryland.

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Illinois: Marriage equality bills headed to both chambers of state legislature

Today begins the new session for the Illinois legislature and marriage equality bills are set to be introduced in both chambers. Via press release from Equality Illinois:

On the first day of the new legislative session, sponsors Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago) say they will work to pass the legislation, known as the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, shortly after members of the 98th General Assembly are sworn in.

“Last week, the Senate Executive Committee made history by approving same-sex marriage and gave our efforts incredible momentum,” Senator Steans said. “With the full support of Senate President John Cullerton, I am confident legislators will grant all Illinois couples the freedom to marry this year.”

“We are one step closer to equality in the Land of Lincoln,” added Representative Harris. “The bills we filed today will treat all couples equally under the law. We are going full steam ahead on this.” Illinois Unites for Marriage — a coalition led by Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois — is continuing its statewide campaign in support of the bill, marshaling support and urging allies to step up contacts with their legislators.

The language in the new bill is identical the one that passed in an Illinois Senate committee last week.

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SCOTUS schedules same-sex marriage arguments

 

From LegalTimes: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in two pending same-sex marriage cases on March 26 and March 27.

The justices slotted arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, a challenge involving California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, for March 26, and in U.S. v. Windsor, concerning the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), on March 27.

In the Perry case, supporters of Prop. 8 challenge a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. They ask the justices whether the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause prohibits a state from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

In Windsor, the justices will decide whether Section 3 of DOMA, establishing that marriage, for all federal purposes, is the union between a man and woman, violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.

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Illinois: GOP Party Chairman Pat Brady supports same-sex marriage

Well, this is huge for Illinois and marriage equality!

According to DailyHerald.com, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles is calling GOP lawmakers asking them to support a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, he said today.

Brady said he was making the calls as a citizen, outside of his official role with the Illinois Republican Party.

“I think it’s time for people to support this,” Brady said.

“More and more Americans understand that if two people want to make a lifelong commitment to each other, government should not stand in their way,” he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “Giving gay and lesbian couples the freedom to get married honors the best conservative principles. It strengthens families and reinforces a key Republican value – that the law should treat all citizens equally.”

Lawmakers in Springfield could begin debating the issue at a hearing as early as tomorrow.

(via JMG)

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Maryland celebrates first same-sex marriages!

Maryland is now the ninth state where marriage equality is official, and it’s the first below the Mason-Dixon line.

James Scales and William Tasker were the first couple married at City Hall in Baltimore today, and the ceremony was presided over by none other than Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

“There is no human institution more sacred than that of the one that you are about to form,” the mayor said. “True marriage, true marriage, is the dearest of all earthly relationships.”

Prior to the ceremony, Scales, a 68-year old employee at the mayor’s office, marveled at finally achieving his dream, telling the AP, “It’s just so hard to believe it’s happening.” And there’s no turning back!

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Maryland: Marriage equality begins at midnight

When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it will mark more than simply the start of a new year for some couples in Maryland — it’s also when Maryland’s new marriage equality law officially takes effect. Some same-sex weddings are already planned for the first moments of 2013.

Since New Year’s Day is a government holiday, courthouses across Maryland are closed. But that didn’t stop Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D) from taking steps to ensure that same-sex couples won’t have to wait any longer for marriage equality. Rawlings-Blake will open Baltimore’s city hall tonight to allow at least seven same-sex couples to get married, and the mayor plans to serve as an official witness for the wedding ceremonies:

“New Years Day will have a new meaning for the hundreds — if not thousands — of couples who will finally have the right to marry the person they love,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake.
“It is a remarkable achievement for Maryland, and we are excited to open City Hall to host some of the first wedding ceremonies in our great state. Newly married couples will stand before their friends and family to profess their love and commitment to each other. This is what we worked for, and I am looking forward to take part in this historic and jubilant day.”

The first couple to be married at City Hall will be a longtime aide to the mayor and his partner of 35 years. And even though the courthouses in other Maryland cities may not be open, the early marriage licenses that some same-sex couples in the state were able to begin applying for in December will become official at midnight tonight.

Being on West Coast time, trust and believe that at 9pm my time I’ll raise a glass to the fabulous couples who waited so long but won the right to marry the person they love.  That alone will make my New Year’s Eve fabulous.

In advance of all the celebrations, I want to congratulate all the newlyweds.  Enjoy, take it all in and celebrate!

Forward!

(source)