Tag: marriage equality

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President Obama supports same-sex marriage in Illinois

President Obama has weighed in on the possible marriage equality bill that may come to a vote in Illinois this January:

“While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday.

“As he has said, his personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally.” Inouye said.

State Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) are the lead sponsors of the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.” They intend to put the measure up for a vote during the upcoming January lame-duck session.

Democrats control both houses of the state legislature and Gov. Quinn says he’ll sign the bill if it hits his desk.  Fingers crossed…

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Majority in Great Britain support marriage equality

According to a poll conducted for The Guardian, 62% of Britain’s voting public endorses Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan for marriage equality:

The ICM poll conducted just before Christmas found 62% of voters now support the proposals, with half this number – 31% – opposed. Most previous polls have found opinion leaning the same way, although the two-to-one margin revealed on Wednesday is particularly emphatic. An ICM online survey for the Sunday Telegraph in March asked the identical question – which expressly reminds people that the option of civil partnerships already exists for gay couples – and established a 45%-36% lead for the reformers.

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Marriage equality makes list of “Top Legal Quotes of 2012”

The Advocate points to a recent list of the top legal quotes of 2012 compiled by the editors of the National Law Journal which includes this line from the 9th Circuit Court’s decision to invalidate Proposition 8: 

“Had Marilyn Monroe’s film been called How to Register a Domestic Partnership with a Millionaire, it would not have conveyed the same meaning,” the decision read. 
The case in question, Perry v. Hollingsworth, challenging the constitutionality of California’s voter-approved ban on marriage equality, will soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Newt Gingrich says the GOP should “deal with reality” when it comes to same-sex marriage

Earlier this week, in a stunning reversal, Newt Gingrich (of the “thrice -marriaged” Newt Gingrich) publicly stated that the GOP should get with it in terms of marriage equality saying it’s a “reality.”

From the Huffington Post: On gay marriage, meanwhile, Gingrich argued that Republicans could no longer close their eyes to the course of public opinion. While he continued to profess a belief that marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman, he suggested that the party (and he himself) could accept a distinction between a “marriage in a church from a legal document issued by the state” — the latter being acceptable.

“I think that this will be much more difficult than immigration for conservatism to come to grips with,” he said, noting that the debate’s dynamics had changed after state referenda began resulting in the legalization of same-sex marriage. “It is in every family. It is in every community. The momentum is clearly now in the direction in finding some way to … accommodate and deal with reality. And the reality is going to be that in a number of American states — and it will be more after 2014 — gay relationships will be legal, period.”

Gingrich, a convert to Roman Catholicism, said he recognizes the distinction between religious and civil marriage. He and his church consider the former to be limited to male-female couples, but he has no problem with the state giving legal recognition to same-sex pairs, he said.

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Dallas Morning News supports marriage equality

In January of 2011, the Dallas Morning News made news by announcing that it would not publish same-sex marriage announcements because same-sex marriage remains unrecognized in Texas. Six months later the paper to changed their policy due to public outrage.

Today, almost two years later, the paper has made another big announcement: they’re endorsing marriage equality.

Same-sex marriage has been percolating at the state level for several years, leading to a patchwork of laws that create more confusion than clarity. The court can undo that confusion by determining the constitutional parameters of this issue.
We urge the Supreme Court to affirm the right of gay couples to marry based upon the fundamental American ideal of equality before the law. It is critical that the court also make clear that such a ruling won’t require churches whose doctrines oppose same-sex marriage to perform such ceremonies.

The paper’s editorial also highlights the broadsheet’s own support for inclusion – they opposed a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage and support non-discrimination policies in their workplace – and concludes, “What’s at stake before the Supreme Court is how a secular society should respond to the growing demand for same-sex marriage.”

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Caribbean island legalizes same-sex marriage

The tiny Caribbean island of Saba has legalized same-sex marriage.

Two men were recently married in Saba, marking the first ceremony of its kind in the region and setting off a frenzy of calls from gay couples in other Dutch Caribbean islands seeking to marry, said Julietta Woods with Saba’s Civil Registry office.”People keep calling me every second,” she said by telephone this week.

As part of the Netherlands Kingdom, the islands of Saba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius have to recognize same-sex marriages. While Bonaire and St. Eustatius have balked at the idea of legalizing such unions, the idea has been embraced in Saba, long considered a gay-friendly destination. “We’ve seen it as a human rights issue,” said Saba council member Carl Buncamper, who is openly gay. “It is important to give the partners equal rights when it comes to inheritance and other benefits.”

The Netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.

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New Jersey: Marriage equality ballot measure introduced

Yesterday openly gay New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora introduced a bill to place marriage equality before the voters.

Gusciora said he has been opposed to putting a civil rights question like marriage equality up to a popular vote. But the Assemblyman — New Jersey’s first openly gay legislator — said his constituents asked him to change his mind in light of last month’s election results. “I am the last person who believes civil rights should be on the ballot, but civil rights delayed is civil rights denied,” Gusciora said. “The timing is right. There is broader acceptance.” Modeled after the Maine ballot question, the bill, (A3611) would need support in both houses of the Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie’s signature to become law. The measure would then be added to the following election-year ballot. Gusciora said he expects the governor would sign his bill. Christie does not personally support gay marriage but has said he would sign a bill giving voters the right to decide the issue. “This is exactly what the Governor wants,” he added.

Said Christie in January: “Let’s put the question of same sex marriage on the ballot. It shouldn’t be decided by 121 people in Trenton.”

In November, NJ Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg disagreed with a ballot strategy, saying: I still don’t believe we should put civil rights onto a referendum.”

Polls have shown that voters both support same-sex marriage, and would like to vote on it.

(via JMG)

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George Will: “The opposition to gay marriage is dying”

More and more polls continue to show the “one way trend” of public support for same-sex marriage.  As I’ve written here many times, the younger folks see the inequality of banning marriage equality.
 
Public Policy Polling found majorities in Oregon (54%) and New Jersey (53%) and near majority in Illinois (47%) support extending marriage to same-sex couples. In Illinois, 58% of people under 45 years old say yes to gay weddings.  Meanwhile, Politico found 40% of Americans support letting gays and lesbians marry. Again – young people are leading the way.

From today’s Politico survey: “A full 63 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds backed marriage…It dropped off to 36 percent support among both 30-to-44-year-olds and 45-to-59-year-olds. Only three in 10 seniors supported gay marriage.”

Asked about such numbers and the Supreme Court’s decision to hear two cases on marriage equality, journalist George Will broke it down like this: all the seniors brought up pre-gay rights are kicking the bucket.

“There is something like an emerging consensus,” he said on ABC News’ This Week. “Quite literally, the opposition to gay marriage is dying. It’s old people.”

(source)

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US Supreme Court to hear Prop 8 and Windsor DOMA cases

The US Supreme Court has announced it will hear the appeal of Prop 8 and the Windsor DOMA challenge. ScotusBlog has this:

“Trying to sort this all out, it is clear that the Court has agreed to consider the merits case in Prop. 8, because that is what the petition presented as its question, but that it is also going to address whether the proponents had a right to pursue their case. If the Court were to find that the proponents did not have Art. III standing, that is the end of the matter: there would be no review on the merits of Proposition 8, or of the 9th CA decision striking it down.”