Expedia endorses marriage equality in Washington state
Washington United for Marriage, the coalition working to defend the state’s bipartisan marriage law, today announced that Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company with household brands like Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Classic Vacations and Hotwire, has endorsed the freedom to marry and the effort to approve Referendum 74 this November.
Washington United for Marriage, the coalition working to defend the state’s bipartisan marriage law, today announced that Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company with household brands like Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Classic Vacations and Hotwire, has endorsed the freedom to marry and the effort to approve Referendum 74 this November. Headquartered in Bellevue, Expedia has 2,270 employees in Washington State and 8,900 worldwide.
In its statement President and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote, in part “As the world’s largest online travel company — with operations in well over 30 countries — we know firsthand that the world is a diverse place. [snip] Supporting the legislation recently passed in Washington State — which provides same-sex couples with the same right to civil marriage that opposite sex couples already enjoy — is a natural extension of our ongoing commitment to the LGBT community.”
Thanks Expedia!
Dublin passes marriage equality into law
In Dublin, Ireland, the city council has passed marriage equality by a vote of 38-4.
Via press release:
Two motions in support of marriage equality were put forward – by councillors from Labour and Sinn Féin – and passed at last night’s council meeting, having been considered jointly. Dublin City Council joins Cork City Council and Belfast City Council, who passed similar motions in June, as well as Omagh, Down, Moyle and Magherafelt District Councils who passed motions during the summer months.
“This is a wonderful step by Dublin City Council to raise awareness of this important issue at a local level. We’d like to thank the councillors from both Labour and Sinn Féin for their initiative, and our supporters in Dublin who spoke to their councillors over the last few months about raising the issue,” said Marriage Equality Director Moninne Griffith.
“Marriage equality is not just a national issue, it’s a local one. It’s about respecting and protecting loving couples and families who are part of our communities and treating them as equal. That is why putting the issue on the agenda at local level is so important.”
Dublin City Council has strongly supported lesbian and gay inclusion in Dublin city over many years, including the second-largest public parade – Dublin Pride – each year, and support many other LGBT cultural events.
Recent polls show marriage equality supported by 73% of Ireland.
Chile: Marriage equality moves into majority in recent poll
According to the poll of 501 nationwide households conducted by Radio Cooperativa e Imaginaccion, 54.9 percent of Chileans support gay nuptials, while 40.7 percent remain opposed.
The survey “reflects a broad and mainstream acceptance” of such unions, said El Movimiento de Integracion y Liberacion Homosexual (Movilh), the nation’s largest gay rights advocate.
“[T]he 54.9% approval of marriage between persons of the same sex is a clear sign of openness, which must be analyzed, understood and accepted by the government and to move forward in advancing approval of such unions,” the group added.
A gay marriage bill introduced more than two years ago by Senator Fulvio Rossi has yet to be debated.
New Zealand steps closer to marriage equality
In the first of three votes which have to take place, New Zealand’s marriage equality bill passed by a large margin:
The 80 to 40 vote in front of a packed and cheering public gallery was the first of three votes Parliament must take before the bill can become law, a process that typically takes several months and allows the public to weigh in. Only a simple majority was needed to ensure a second vote, and the margin is a strong indication that the law will be passed. Should New Zealand pass the measure into law, it would become the 12th country since 2001 to recognize same-sex marriages. Some states in the U.S. also recognize such marriages, but the federal government does not. Polls indicate about two-thirds of New Zealanders support gay marriage. It also has the support of most of the country’s political leaders.
New poll: Support for marriage equality continues to grow in Nevada
• 47% of Nevada voters think gay marriage should be legal to versus 42% who think it should be illegal. That’s up from a 45/43 spread in late March.
• Black voters now narrowly support marriage equality, 47/41, in the wake of President Obama’s announcement in May. PPP previously found that they opposed it 63/21.
• 80% of Nevada voters support some form of legal recognition for gay couples – either marriage or civil unions – to only 17% who are completely opposed. Even among Republicans, 74% at least support civil unions.
Marriage News Watch – August 27, 2012
France looks to legalize marriage equality by 2013
Come October, it looks like France will join other European countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Spain in allowing gay marriage.
From LGBTQNation:
The French government is expected to introduce legislation in October that would legalize same-sex marriage, a move that would bring France in line with several European countries and fulfill an campaign promise by President François Hollande.
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, had previously announced in the French Parliament that gay and lesbian couples would be permitted to marry and adopt children by 2013.
“In October, we will send a bill to the National Assembly and the Senate to allow same-sex couples to marry,” Ayrault said Saturday, in an address to Socialist Party members at their annual gathering. “It would also allow them to form families and adopt children.”
Once introduced, the bill will be debated in France’s two houses of Parliament, which are both controlled by Hollande’s Socialist Party.
France legalized civil partnerships in the 1990s. Polls show a majority of French citizens support marriage equality.
Sarah Longwell explains why conservatives should support marriage equality
Sarah Longwell, a member of the Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry leadership committee, talks with Thom Hartmann about why she as a conservative supports the freedom to marry.
Find out more about Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry: http://freedomtomarry.org/youngconservatives
Maine couple discusses why marriage equality is important for both their sons
Dan and Pat Lawson, a Maine couple married for 30 years, discusses their twin sons, one of whom is straight and one gay, about why marriage matters.
The pro-equality group Mainers United for Marriage, issued a statement in which campaign manager Matt McTighe commented on the latest ad, saying:
“Our campaign is built upon honest and open conversations with Mainers about why marriage matters to all loving, committed couples. The personal story of the real Maine family highlighted in GLAD’s new ad resembles the conversations we’ve had with tens of thousands of Mainers across the state who are changing their hearts and minds and growing more supportive of the freedom to marry every day.”