Tony Hawk, the biggest name in skate boarding history, becomes the latest celebrity name to join the HRC’s “Americans for Marriage Equality” campaign.
Pro-skater Tony Hawk for Americans for Marriage Equality
Anti-gay Rick Santorum says marriage equality “devalues” marriage
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| Former US Senator Rick Santorum |
Right Wing Watch is reporting on a recent interview on the Eagle Forum Live radio show wherein former US senator and forever anti-gay Rick Santorum said that marriage equality “devalues” marriage:
The former senator and presidential candidate told host Anne Cori, Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly’s daughter, that supporters of marriage equality have “devalued marriage” and “divorced marriage from any meaning beyond a romantic relationship,” while Cori lamented the “celebration of single mothers.”
He also warned of polygamy: “If marriage is simply a romantic relationship between two people, and by the way, that’s what it’s devolved to the minds of a lot of Americans, if that’s all that marriage is well then it’s hard to make the argument that any two people or any three or four people shouldn’t be able to get married.”
Together 50 years: Henry & George Vassos for Marriage Ohio
After 50 years together, Henry and George traveled to New York City to legally wed.
But once they crossed the state lines to return to their home state of Ohio, the legally married couple was treated as nothing more than legal strangers.
Nearly half a century of love and commitment — and they want nothing more than to be respected in the state they call home.
(from Marriage Ohio)
West Virginia in holding pattern on marriage equality for now
After yesterday’s ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court declaring Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, North Carolina’s Attorney General announced the state would no longer defend their marriage ban since North Carolina is also in the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction and the outcome at this point is predictable.
However, West Virginia’s AG seemed to indicate his office will take a “wait and see” attitude.
The writing is on the table, kids.
Forward.
North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper announces the state will not oppose same-sex marriage cases
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| North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper |
In light of the Fourth Circuit Court’s ruling which found Virginia’s marriage ban is unconstitutional, North Carolina’s attorney general said he will stop defending his state’s ban in court:
“After reviewing the 4th Circuit decision and consulting with attorneys here, I have concluded that the State of North Carolina will not oppose the cases moving forward.
“In addition, the State of North Carolina will acknowledge the 4th Circuit opinion that marriage is a fundamental right and that our office believes that the judges are bound by this 4th Circuit decision.
“In all these cases challenging state marriage laws, our office along with other attorneys general and state attorneys across the country have made about every legal argument imaginable.
“Since the US Supreme Court ruled in the Windsor case, all the federal courts have rejected these arguments each and every time. So it’s time for the State of North Carolina to stop making them.” – North Carolina State Attorney General, Roy Cooper
Today’s Virginia ruling sets precedent for not only that state, but all states in the court’s jurisdiction which includes North Carolina.
South Carolina’s AG, Alan Wilson, issued a statement saying he intends to continue defending his state’s same-sex marriage ban.
Virginia: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional
This began in February when U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen ruled that Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban violates equal protection and due process guarantees, and therefore unconstitutional.
Two circuit court clerks whose duties include issuing marriage licenses appealed.
Now, a three-judge panel at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld that ruling.
From the American Foundation for Equal Rights:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed that Virginia’s marriage ban is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Today’s decision sends the message that loving couples like our plaintiffs – Tim Bostic & Tony London and Carol Schall & Mary Townley – are entitled to the same basic rights and protections as every other American.
Hollingsworth v. Perry, the AFER-led challenge to California’s Proposition 8, was the first lawsuit in which a federal court of appeals ruled in favor of marriage equality.
Today’s decision is monumental as it also paves the way for West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to strike down their marriage bans as those states fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
This ruling sets a high-court precedent, meaning that judges who hear subsequent marriage challenges in North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia (the other states covered by the Fourth Circuit) should apply the precedent.
Marriage equality has been legal in Maryland, the fifth state in the Fourth Circuit, since January, 2013.
This marks the 29th court ruling in favor of marriage equality since SCOTUS struck down Section 3 of DOMA in June of 2013.
Freedom To Marry issued this statement:
“It was in a case out of Virginia that the Supreme Court ended race discrimination in marriage. And today, in another Virginia marriage case, a federal circuit court ruled against discrimination in marriage, affirming the freedom to marry for loving and committed gay couples.
“The Fourth Circuit’s ruling echoes what over 25 other federal and state courts have held: same-sex couples deserve the dignity of marriage, and anti-marriage laws are indefensible.
“Every day of denial is a day of injustice and tangible harms. It’s time for the Supreme Court to bring the country to national resolution and secure the freedom to marry for all.”
Marriage News Watch – July 28, 2014
This week in marriage equality:
• Colorado sees new rulings on marriage from multiple courts
• New polls show growing support for equality in western states, but multiple Attorneys General have filed new briefs to stop gay and lesbian couples from marrying
• Another Republican member of Congress has come out in favor of the freedom to marry.
Colorado Court of Appeals denies state AG’s request to stop issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples
Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall can still issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in light of the latest ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals which denied Attorney General John Suther’s emergency motion to stop such licenses while the case is currently being appealed.
Boulder District Judge Andrew Hartman on July 10 denied a request by Suthers to grant an injunction to prevent Hall from issuing the licenses, saying the state could not prove Hall’s action harmed the state. He re-affirmed that ruling this week.
Suthers filed an appeal with the Colorado Court of Appeals, and asked that a stay be issued stopping Hall pending the hearing of the appeal.
Hall started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples June 25 after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Utah’s ban unconstitutional. Her office had issued 183 as of this afternoon.
Hall is currently the only county clerk in the state issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Florida Rep. David Jolly is the 8th GOP member of Congress to support marriage equality
Freshman GOP Congressman David Jolly of Florida steps up to become the eighth sitting GOP member of Congress to endorse marriage equality.
From the Washington Post:
When asked by The Washington Post whether he supports gay marriage, in light of a Florida judge’s decision last week to overturn the state’s ban, Jolly said that his personal views on marriage are that it should be limited to one man and one woman.
But, he added, states should not be defining the “sanctity” of marriage.
“As a matter of my Christian faith, I believe in traditional marriage,” said Jolly in a statement to The Post. “But as a matter of Constitutional principle I believe in a form of limited government that protects personal liberty. To me, that means that the sanctity of one’s marriage should be defined by their faith and by their church, not by their state.
“Accordingly, I believe it is fully appropriate for a state to recognize both traditional marriage as well as same-sex marriage, and therefore I support the recent decision by a Monroe County Circuit Judge.”
While his support for marriage equality is clearly welcomed, it’s worth noting that he holds traditionally GOP positions on Obamacare, abortion rights, military support for Israel, and gun control.
Also expressing support for same-sex marriage in Washington are GOP Senators Rob Portman, Lisa Murkowski, Mark Kirk and Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Charlie Dent, and Richard Hanna.
Florida Judge denies request to lift stay in marriage equality ruling
Monroe County Circuit Judge Luis Garcia has denied a request to lift a stay in his ruling that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, raccording to CBS Miami.
Plaintiffs Aaron Huntsman and William Lee Jones filed the request.
Judge Garcia ruled last week that the 2008 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s “equal protections” clause.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi immediately filed a notice of appeal, which triggered an automatic stay in the ruling.
In his decision to not life the stay, Garcia wrote: “Based on decisions of the United States Supreme Court and other courts to stay proceedings in similar challenges, this court DENIES the Emergency Motion. The automatic stay, currently in place, shall remain in place until completion of appellate proceedings or until further order of the Court.”