CA Supreme Court hears arguments on Prop 8 issue: “Do Proponents have standing?”
Via the Advocate: The California Supreme Court heard arguments today that could have far reaching implications not only for same-sex marriage in California, but also for future ballot initiatives like Proposition 8, which banned gay people in 2008 from wedding.
The question at today’s hearing is about whether a group unaffiliated with the state government has the right to defend a state law in court — in this case, Proposition 8.
Former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, current governor Jerry Brown, and Attorney General Kamala Harris have all refused to defend the ballot initiative from challenges to its constitutionality. So the proponents of Proposition 8, which spent heavily and organized to pass the law, have been fighting to fill the void left by the state.
Lawyer Charles Cooper, representing the antigay ProtectMarriage.com, argued that other courts have allowed proponents of ballot initiatives to defend their laws because they have a specific interest.
Cooper was pressed by a justice who asked him whether those against marriage equality would be able to show any actual injury if same-sex couples were allowed to legally wed.
Ted Olson, representing the gay and lesbian couples suing the state for marriage equality, received push-back from one justice who challenged his assertion that the state attorney general has authority to pick and choose which laws are worth keeping. After some prodding, Olson clarified that an attorney general must enforce the laws but does not have to defend them.
After the trial, Olson told reporters that the justices were tough, but he said he felt encouraged by the line of questioning, according to the Courage Campaign.
“There is ample authority that individuals do not have a right to defend a law unless they would suffer a direct and immediate harm from its invalidation,” Olson said in a statement through Americans For Equal Rights. “The proponents of Proposition 8 will not suffer any harm from a decision that grants gay and lesbian Californians their fundamental civil right to marry. It is the Attorney General who has the exclusive authority to make litigation decisions on behalf of the State, and here the Attorney General has made the sound decision that the discriminatory provisions of Proposition 8 do not warrant defense on appeal. Proponents cannot second-guess that exercise of discretion.”
NOM’s Brian Brown goes on auto-pilot and loses Fox News marriage equality debate
Well, bless his little, tiny, itty-bitty, eentsy-teensy heart – Brian Brown of the mean and nasty “National Organization for Marriage” clearly decided he would take this TV appearance but forgot to turn off the “auto-pilot.”
John Stossel asks, quite directly, ‘how does same-sex marriage threaten heterosexual marriage’ and Brian just starts with his tired old talking points as if he can’t even hear the questions anymore. PS – he never answers the question.
It’s almost sad, if it weren’t so icky what he does to the LGBT community. Never does he articulate HOW a same-sex marriage threatens anyone else’s marriage. The one tired idea he comes up with (twice) is that marriage benefits a child in having a mother and father. But many marriages are childless – people who don’t want children, people who marry after child rearing years, etc… and he never addresses why those couples are not in the mix with gay or lesbians couples who may not have children?
Marriage is a civil issue. It is based on a civil marriage license issued by a civil government that attaches civil rights to a legally married couple. Thus, a legal marriage license is about civil rights.
Having been with my husband for 17 years, and legally married for 8 years, I haven’t noticed the sky fall any where near me. I have heterosexual friends who’ve known me for decades (who are also conservatives) who don’t care about my marriage. And I have neighbors who know Michael and I who have said clearly “we don’t care about any of that.”
I am guessing that Brian Brown is probably more interested in his paycheck than anything else. The tide is clearly changing and the more it changes the more likely it is that Brian Brown will soon be out of a job. He will not be able to divert so much of the funds that NOM collects into a nice, healthy paycheck for himself. It will be interesting to see how long he stays in this line of work when it doesn’t pay well.
The more older, more traditional voters/citizens pass on, and the more the younger, more accepting voters/citizens attend the ballot box and don’t care about NOM’s sad divisive screed, the less Brian Brown will find a place for himself in this evolving world.
Poll: Majority of North Carolinians Oppose Amendment Banning Same-Sex Marriage
From Equality North Carolina: Fifty-six percent (56%) of North Carolina voters oppose or strongly oppose an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, a five-point jump in the last two years, according to a February 2011 Elon University Poll, a non-partisan polling service.
The poll also showed a strong majority (57%) of North Carolinians support marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples, revealing a dramatic 9% increase in public support for marriage equality in only two years. This result mirrors two separate polls conducted by Public Policy Polling in March and July that also reveal majority support of legal recognitions for same-sex couples.
“Over the past year, Equality North Carolina has had thousands of conversations with citizens from across the state of every age, race and background who oppose this discriminatory legislation and the harm it would cause to LGBT North Carolinans, our economy and our state’s reputation,” said Alex Miller, interim executive director at Equality NC. “These polls reflect these findings and track with national data that suggests the appetite for constitutional bans of same-sex marriage is waning. When our legislators push this anti-gay marriage amendment, they do so without the approval of the majority of the citizens of our state. ”
Patrick and Scott tie the knot
With so much attention this past weekend on the Kim Kardashian wedding (where one news person referred to the couple as “our American royalty” and I gagged) I wanted to post this truly beautiful and moving video about a gay wedding that happened, like many weddings, without a lot of fanfare except for those involved.
It’s beautifully shot, framed and edited; and it really captures the honest emotions of what happens on what is, for many of us, the most important day in our lives. Not millions of dollars, not lots of hype or press. Just the honest emotion of two people.
Patrick and Scott’s wedding was beautifully shot by John Hoel, who writes:
“It was truly a day I’ll never forget and I was so honored to have captured it. Elizabeth couldn’t have put it more eloquently during the ceremony, ‘When our law lags behind, people continue to live their truth and create their own version of a family, and this is what Patrick and Scott are deciding to do today.’
I completely relate to so much of this video. When Michael and I were first married in Toronto in October 2003, the things I remember most were getting dressed, walking to the Toronto courthouse, fixing each other’s ties, holding hands while exchanging vows and the incredible weight and importance of the moment.
We married again in Palm Springs, CA, in October 2008 (we are one of the 18,000 couples who got to keep our married status) and again the same things stick with me: getting dressed, waiting for the mayor to marry us, being in the moment as we exchanged vows.
It’s a very powerful day of emotion that I never thought I’d experience. And much of my passion for marriage equality is based on how I was affected by getting married and what it meant to us.
With all due respect to Ms. Kardashian, this video comes much closer to what “marriage” is about to me.
|
| Michael and I getting married in Toronto – October 17, 2003 |
Marriage Equality Update for August 22
This week’s Marriage Equality Update is all about Minnesota, Maine, North Carolina, Colorado, and Broadway.
All four of those states have months of bitter fighting over marriage to look forward to, with millions of dollars likely to be spent on both sides.
Also, the play based on the Proposition 8 trials will have an all-star reading next month.
Watch the update for details.
Poll: New Yorkers Happy with Marriage Equality
A new poll indicates that a solid majority of New Yorkers supports the marriage equality law that took effect last month, with 63% being opposed to the prospect of overturning the measure.
The NY1/Marist poll found that 55% of New York State residents support the new law, 36% oppose it and 9% are unsure.
Among registered voters, the percentages are quite similar. Support increases among people making more than $50,000 per year (59%), college graduates (62%), people under 45 years of age (62%), and the white population compared to the non-white population (67% to 59%).
Read more at Advocate.com
American Psychological Assoc. approves of marriage equality
The policymaking body of the American Psychological Association (APA) unanimously approved the resolution 157-0 to approve of full marriage equality on the eve of the group’s annual convention.
The group, with more than 154,000 members, has long supported full equal rights for gays, based on social science research on sexual orientation. Now the nation’s psychologists — citing an increasing body of research about same-sex marriage, as well as increased discussion at the state and federal levels — took the support to a new level.
“Now as the country has really begun to have experience with gay marriage, our position is much clearer and more straightforward — that marriage equity is the policy that the country should be moving toward,” says Clinton Anderson, director of APA’s Office on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns.
The resolution points to numerous recent studies, including findings that “many gay men and lesbians, like their heterosexual counterparts, desire to form stable, long-lasting and committed intimate relationships and are successful in doing so.”
It adds that “emerging evidence suggests that statewide campaigns to deny same-sex couples legal access to civil marriage are a significant source of stress to the lesbian, gay and bisexual residents of those states and may have negative effects on their psychological well-being.”
Six states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont) and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage.
“Pop-up” chapels in Central Park for same-sex weddings
From the Advocate: Twenty-four couples are slated to marry in a pop-up chapel located in New York City’s Central Park on Sunday.
Dese’rae L. Stage and Katie Marks were already planning a wedding in Boston, when the news came that New York may pass a marriage law of its own. They decided to get married in their home state first, before heading north for a bigger ceremony.
“We’ve picked our closest local friends and a couple of friends are coming from Miami to see the ceremony,” Stage told the Village Voice. “And we’re still doing Boston next year, so our parents can come. It was kind of one of those things, to be a part of history…”
One of the Pop Up Chapel’s designs resemble a Hershey’s Kiss, while the other is a rainbow array of ribbons, designed by New York firms Z-A Studio and ICRAVE. One ceremony in the chapels include an officiant, photographer, champagne, and cupcakes.
Bipartisan polls show momentum nationwide for same-sex marriage
From LGBTQnation.com: Leading Republican and Democratic pollsters on Wednesday released a new analysis of polling data spanning more than a decade that reveals a dramatic shift in public attitudes on the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
The results show steady growth in support over a 13-year period, with a significant acceleration over the past two years.
This surge reflects evolving positions among every group analyzed, including older Americans and Republicans, groups that historically have been the least supportive of same-sex marriage.
According to the study, support for marriage equality rose about 1% per year over a 13-year period between 1996 and 2009. But in 2010 and 2011, it jumped 5% per year.
Voters under 40 support marriage equality by almost 70 percent, and as young people reach voting age, this rise is expected to continue.
“America’s elected officials are lagging behind the American people, a majority of whom have opened their hearts and changed their minds and now support the freedom to marry with accelerating momentum,” said Evan Wolfson, founder and President of Freedom to Marry.