Tag: marriage equality

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Washington state Republicans push back on marriage equality

Republic lawmakers in Washington state were quick to challenge Gov. Chris Gregoire’s recent push to pass gay marriage, saying it would create an unnecessary distraction.

The Seattle Times reports that Senate Republic Leader Mike Hewitt said the issue would cause problems because Ed Murray, a gay state senator and also the state’s Democratic budget negotiator, was “vested in this personally.”

Gregoire disputed claims that the state wouldn’t have time to address gay marriage during the upcoming legislative session, which begins Monday.

“To those who say we don’t have the time, what will history say when we say, ‘Sorry, we had a budget to pass, so we continued to discriminate.’ That answer does not work,” Gregoire said after a panel on the issue. “This is our test. This is what leadership is about. Now is our time.”
(source)

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Concord Monitor: “Don’t tamper with same-sex marriage law”

Excellent editorial in the New Hampshire Concord Monitor yesterday. Well-written and spells out why same-sex marriage should NOT be repealed in the state. In the article, the paper addresses some of the traditional arguments made against same-sex marriage.  Here are just a few:

• Marriage is between one man and one woman. This is more of a declaration than an actual argument. In fact, it’s a declaration of bigotry. After all, who gets to define marriage? Those already married? Without a compelling reason to deny marriage to gay people, a statement like this is hard to take seriously.

• But marriage has been restricted to heterosexuals for thousands of years. Many traditions outlive their usefulness. Slavery was an ancient practice too, after all. So was barring women from participation in politics. Once upon a time, people with disabilities were routinely locked away in institutions. Mercifully, times change.

• Marriage is for procreation. In many cases, yes. But infertile, straight couples marry all the time. So do those uninterested in having kids. Those past their child-bearing years aren’t forced to divorce. Having children isn’t the only thing that brings couples together.

As the GOP nominees head to New Hampshire, and the state legislature gets ready to debate repeal of marriage equality, this comes at a good time.

Read the entire editorial here.

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Marriage up 14% in NYC since passage of marriage equality

Over the past six months, the New York City Clerk’s Office saw a significant uptick in the number of marriage licenses it issued — 4,042, or 14%, more than were handed out in the same time period in 2010.

While the NYC City Clerk’s Office does not require marriage license applicants to identify themselves by gender, the reason for the significant uptick is obvious.

“We’re overwhelmed,” said Michael McSweeney, the city clerk. “It’s been much busier for us than this time last year, but we’re delighted to see the extra business because we understand the impact. We’re handling it. We’re thrilled.”

Gay people come to New York because it’s a place of tolerance,” Harvey Molotch, a professor of sociology at New York University, said to the Wall Street Journal. “It’s already a place to come for vacation, and that lends itself to getting married, too. You can stay there, have a good time, and do lots of things. It’s like that YMCA song.”

There you have it – the Village People were WAAAY ahead of their time.

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Cancun to allow marriage equality beginning Jan. 1, 2012

Cancun and other resort areas in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo will have a new attraction for gay and lesbian couples from the United States, Canada and Europe, allowing them to legalize their unions thanks to a quirk in the local civil code, activist Patricia Novelo told Efe.

Novelo said that in January the first same-sex group wedding will be held in the resort area as part of local support for the human rights of the gay community.

She said that already several couples have expressed their wish to formalize their unions at the ceremony.

Novelo said that this “is something very positive. Besides the social part there are many economic benefits because the gay community generates between 45 and 60 percent more income on top of conventional tourism.”

She said gay and lesbian marriages are possible in Quintana Roo, “thanks to a legal gap in the Civil Code,” which only makes mention of “people interested in getting married,” without specifying their gender.

In Mexico, same-sex marriages have been expressly authorized in Mexico City, where through Dec. 15 1,246 such unions had been legally finalized, many involving citizens of other countries.

Hotels, airlines, and tour companies are already working to launch same-sex marriage packages to Cancun, Cozumel, and other beach towns in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.

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Marriage equality heading into 2012

On Jan. 1, Hawaii and Delaware join the growing number of states offering some form of relationship recognition for same-sex couples.

Marriage equality: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington, D.C.

Civil unions: New Jersey, Illinois, Rhode Island – soon to be joined by Hawaii and Delaware

Domestic partnerships: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state and Wisconsin

The Republican-controlled state legislature in New Hampshire has a pending bill to repeal marriage equality in that state, but the governor has promised to veto it, if passed.

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Same-sex couples pay more in taxes

The lack of federal recognition of same-sex couples results in higher taxes for those couples, CNNMoney reports.

CNNMoney based their information on a series of same-sex versus opposite-sex tax scenarios it presented to H&R Block. A seemingly equal household with one working parent earning $100,000 per year and one stay-at-home parent earning nothing produced radically different results when toggled between opposite-sex and same-sex situations.

In this particular scenario, says the article, the same-sex household would owe $4,543 more tax than the opposite-sex household. This is because the “head of household” designation pushes more income into a higher tax bracket and the individual filings provide lower standard deductions than “married and filing jointly.” The gay head of household is also subjected to a tax on the stay-at-home spouse’s health insurance premiums that the heterosexual breadwinner isn’t responsible for.

Also, there are many marital exemptions given to other families for inheritance taxes and gift taxes for which same sex couples do not qualify. In addition, same-sex households receive lower tax exclusions for capital gains on the sales of a home (unless the home is jointly owned and each spouse qualifies for the exclusion).