Zach Wahls heads out on the road for marriage equality
Zach Wahls is headed out on a tour around Iowa sponsored by LBGT rights group One Iowa to talk to Iowans about why marriage matters.
According to One Iowa “Zach will be joining us in Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Mason City, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Davenport. He will be speaking at churches, town halls and house parties across the state.”
Outdoor retailer REI stands up for marriage equality
In a letter to her employees, outdoor retailer REI‘s CEO and President Sally Jewell strongly endorsed marriage equality, Washington United for Marriage reports.
I think what Ms. Jewell says is important and goes to the heart of the marriage equality debate. Because of that, I want to post her full message to her employees. See below the full text.
And thank you Ms. Jewell. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
REI is taking a position in support of marriage equality—an issue that is important to the co-op as an inclusive organization and a welcoming place to work and do business. A referendum on this issue will come before Washington State voters in November after passage through the Washington State Legislature earlier this year; marriage equality is also gaining momentum nationally.
Why is this important to the co-op? Let me begin my answer with a personal perspective. A few weeks ago, my husband Warren and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary. We’ve been on a journey through life together since our first date on my 18th birthday, raising our two children, changing jobs, moving to various places, and witnessing the challenges and joys of our relationship and those of our parents, three of them through end-of-life.
For heterosexual couples, it is very easy to take for granted the legal and societal benefits of marriage—health care benefits, retirement benefits, insurance, death benefits, healthcare decisions, child-rearing and custody, and many more, not to mention the meaning of the commitment of marriage that was so vivid to us as we introduced each other as husband or wife for the first time. As executrix of my mother’s estate, the legal benefits of marriage in estate and health issues became even clearer to me over the past year.
Marriage equality is important to the co-op because the benefits, legal clarity and societal understanding that Warren and I have enjoyed these past 34 years should be available to any two people who want to express their love and make a permanent commitment to each other that is so clearly provided for in the legal definition of marriage.
When I joined REI in 2000, I realized what it was like to work in a place that was inclusive of people without regard to their sexual orientation. This was not the case early in my career as an engineer, nor in the 19 years I spent in banking. In those years, I witnessed the challenge that my colleagues experienced—where seemingly simple questions about relationships, children, or even weekend activities could become delicate and difficult to answer, because being “out” was dangerous to one’s career.
I am proud of the inclusive environment that REI creates for our LGBT teammates and customers, and recognize that this is a continuing journey for all of us as we strive to be increasingly inclusive across all of the dimensions of diversity. The investment we have made in inclusion training across the organization is an important step in this journey.
The Board, Leadership Forum and I are committed to ensuring that we continue to create an environment where people can be themselves and feel welcome at REI, including respecting religious and political diversity. I want to ensure that our colleagues and customers who have beliefs that run counter to the position the co-op is taking on this issue feel respected in their right to disagree. My own journey in understanding and coming to this position on marriage equality has been shaped by thoughtful, heartfelt discussions with people who have held a variety of differing perspectives. I encourage you to engage each other in a discussion, practicing our core value of respect—“we listen to and learn from each other.
Sixteen years from now, when I expect to be celebrating my 50th wedding anniversary, I sincerely hope that there will be millions more of a new generation for whom 50 years of marriage will become a possibility through these changes in our legal system.
I invite your reflections and thoughts on this blog post.
Warmly,
Sally
Australia: Marriage equality in South Australia?
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| South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill |
Following last week’s announcement by Tasmania that would introduce legislation legalizing gay marriage, South Australia’s premier has signed on as well:
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told a rally in Adelaide he would legislate for gay marriage at a state level.
On the steps of Parliament House, Mr Weatherill said he would support a Greens bill and allow Labor MPs a conscience vote.
“People should be entitled to express their own identity in any way they wish and the law shouldn’t become a barrier to prevent them from doing that,” he said.”So, from my perspective, it’s a simple question of the dignity of the individual. People should be entitled to express their identity in any way they wish and the law shouldn’t get in the way.”
Forward, kids. Keep moving forward.
Date set for Nevada gay marriage lawsuit
U.S. District Chief Judge Robert Jones has set November 26th as the date he will hear oral arguments in the lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal Defense against the state of Nevada over differences in rights granted by the state’s domestic partnership law (passed in 2009) and the gay marriage ban that became part of the state’s constitution in 2002.
Judge Jones told lawyers from both sides that he plans to rely on written arguments, not courtroom testimony from people offered as experts. He also indicated that he looks to decide the matter quickly.
Minnesota: From the “feel good” good guys
Last year, more than 2,000 Minnesotans gathered in support of love, commitment and the freedom to marry for the inaugural Big Gay Race. This year’s Big Gay Race – set for September 29, 2012 – will be even bigger & better!
Register and learn more: www.mnuited.org/biggayrace
Hawaii: Federal judge upholds ban on marriage equality
Unfortunately, a Federal judge ruled against plaintiffs who sued the state saying only marriage would give them equal federal benefits.
Via the Advocate: U.S. District Judge Alan Kay issued a 120-page decision that said court involvement at this point would “short-circuit” the legislative activity that has taken place against the issue. A civil unions law took effect in 2011, but the co-plaintiffs in the suit, Jackson v. Abercrombie, argued that only marriage would give them certain federal benefits.
Judge Kay said that unlike California, where Proposition 8 took away marriage rights granted by the state’s highest court, same-sex couples in Hawaii were never legally able to marry, according to the Hawaii Reporter.
“If the traditional institution of marriage is to be restructured, as sought by plaintiffs, it should be done by a democratically-elected legislature or the people through a constitutional amendment, not through judicial legislation that would inappropriately preempt democratic deliberation regarding whether or not to authorize same-sex marriage,” wrote Judge Kay.
Hawaii has long been at the forefront of the marriage equality debate in the United States. The state’s supreme court ruled in 1993 that denying same-sex couples marriage rights constituted discrimination, but in 1998, voters became the first in the nation to approve a ban on same-sex marriage.
Governor Abercrombie issued a statement after the ruling that said he would join the plaintiffs if they decide to appeal, the AP reports. The appeal would be heard in the Ninth Circuit.
“I respectfully disagree and will join the Plaintiffs if they appeal this decision. To refuse individuals the right to marry on the basis of sexual orientation or gender is discrimination in light of our civil unions law,” said Governor Abercrombie. “For me this is about fairness and equality.”
Most recent marriage equality polls in four states
The pro-gay-marriage side currently leads in the latest polls of the ballot measures in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington.
Here’s a breakdown of where things stand on the question of whether gay marriage should be legalized in each state:
MAINE (WBUR, June):
Yes: 55 percent
No: 36 percent
MARYLAND (Hart Research Assoicates, August):
Yes: 54 percent
No: 40 percent
MINNESOTA (Public Policy Polling, June):
Yes: 49 percent
No: 43 percent
WASHINGTON (PPP, June):
Yes: 51 percent
No: 42 percent
Of course the election is three months away, but I’ll take these numbers. It’s time folks.
Public opinion has shifted rapidly in favor of gay marriage in recent years; a recent CNN poll found 54 percent of Americans supporting legal recognition of “marriages between gay and lesbian couples,” part of a long-term public opinion trend in that direction. Since President Obama came out in favor of gay marriage in May, there’s evidence the position has gained even more support among Democrats, particularly African-Americans, and the Democratic Party recently announced there will be a pro-gay marriage plank in the platform approved at the convention in Charlotte next month.
“Close Enough” by War Poets
Via press release:
Directed by Toni Trussoni and produced by Chris Bueckers, the music video for “Close Enough” brings the controversial issue of gay marriage to life.
Archival footage and still photographs are sprinkled throughout, showing a pro-gay rally one minute and an anti-gay demonstration the next. The story is set in New York’s Greenwich Village, home of the Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 riots culminated in the first Gay Pride Parade. The video is dedicated to the memory of the Stonewall uprisings.
Trussoni’s choices of locations were both idyllic St Paul and upscale Minneapolis, and St John the Evangelist Episcopal Church — a gorgeous building in St Paul, MN, not far from the band’s Minneapolis headquarters — serves as the location where both couples finally get married.
“This is the first time that I have worked on a project with gay couples as the focal point,” Bueckers explains. “It was a challenge. Some people would not work on the project because of the subject matter, and I was a little taken aback by that. The film community is usually very open and progressive about the topic of gay rights.”
War Poets is a Minneapolis-based band that will release their debut album, Dulce et Decorum Est around October 1, 2012.
Minnesota is facing a constitutional amendment measure that could ban marriage equality this November.
New marriage equality ad from Australia
Love this new ad from Australian Marriage Equality. Real people talking about how marriage creates community and family. “To be absolutely equal to every other person in this country.”
According to a new poll released on Monday nearly two-thirds of Australians support marriage equality:
The Galaxy poll shows 64 per cent of people believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry – up two percentage points from February. But only 58 per cent of men back changing the law compared with 70 per cent of women. The poll was commissioned by lobby group Australian Marriage Equality.
“Support for marriage equality has risen to its highest point ever because Australians are increasingly realising that marriage equality will strengthen relationships, families and marriage,” spokesman Alex Greenwich said in a statement.