Tag: marriage equality

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ACLU files lawsuit in North Carolina seeking recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages

Via ACLU press release:

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation and the law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Ellis & Winters LLP have filed a new case in federal court on behalf of three married, same-sex couples seeking state recognition of their marriages. Because of the serious medical condition of one member of each couple, they are asking the court to take swift action.

The ACLU has also sought immediate relief on behalf of one of the couples in the existing Fisher-Borne et al. v. Smith case who have a young child who is being denied critical medical care because North Carolina neither recognizes his mothers’ marriage nor allows both mothers to adopt their child and establish a legal relationship.

North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples prevents the plaintiff couples from securing hundreds of protections provided in both state and federal law to married couples. If one member of the couple were to die before the state recognizes their marriage, the surviving spouse will be forever denied not only these protections but the dignity that respect from the state affords, such as having one’s relationship acknowledged forever on a death certificate.

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Sen. Alan Simpson supports the Freedom To Marry

From Freedom To Marry:

As federal appeals courts begin to hear marriage cases across the country, Freedom to Marry released a national television ad featuring former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson. Simpson, a Republican, represented Wyoming for 18 years and held senior leadership positions.

In the 30-second ad, the senator makes the conservative case for the freedom to marry based on individual liberty and a live-and-let-live philosophy. The ad begins airing on April 8 on national cable and network Sunday political shows in Washington, D.C., and in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Wyoming markets.

“Speaking as a conservative, a lifelong Republican, and a son of the West, Senator Simpson talks of his values of freedom and limited government and the joy of marriage,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “The ad shows the bipartisan momentum for the freedom to marry. And recent rulings against marriage discrimination by nine out of nine federal district judges show the legal trajectory of our campaign: toward more freedom, more dignity, and more families enjoying equality under the law.”

For more information on Freedom to Marry, go to www.freedomtomarry.org.

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Marriage News Watch – April 7, 2014

From the American Foundation for Equal Rights:

Anti-gay groups are getting desperate, with one candidate for governor comparing marriage equality to murder.

An Alabama scheme to slip a marriage ban into the US Constitution is moving forward but is pretty much guaranteed to fail.

A judge in Ohio rules that marriage equality isn’t only for dead people anymore.

Plus, a major marriage victory in Utah gets put to the test on appeal this Thursday.

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Olivia Newton-John Is Still The One We Want

Queerty just posted my interview with Olivia Newton-John about her new show “Summer Nights” at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

Olivia chats on her new show, her support for marriage equality, and her personal passions for health and wellness.

Here’s just a bit:

You were one of the first major celebrities to speak out in support of marriage equality in Australia. Are you surprised at the momentum the marriage equality movement has had in the past few years?

I think it’s fantastic. Not surprised, because I think we’re all becoming more educated and more aware. Just about every family has a gay member, I think. It used to be swept under the carpet, but not anymore. I think that as the awareness grows and the love grows, it will be accepted more and more. We’re very lucky that we have this in the free world. There are those in other countries who can’t be who they are.

Have you ever been concerned about sharing your opinion about important issues like marriage equality, breast cancer awareness or the environment?

I might be a little nervous, but it doesn’t stop me if it’s correct. I’m not really a political person; I don’t affiliate myself with any particular party. But I will get involved with an issue if I feel it’s the right thing to do. I’ve spoken out in Australia about ‘fracking’ where they are breaking open the ground to release natural gas which really endangers the water supply. It was a kind of dangerous area to tread in, but I knew that it was incredibly important to make people aware because I don’t think enough people knew about it. That was important to me. I cancelled a tour of Japan many years ago because of the killing of whales and dolphins in tuna nets, and I can’t believe it’s still happening. So, there are a lot of things that I feel passionately about. Sometimes I’m a little nervous about it but that doesn’t stop me — you have to have the courage of your convictions.

Read the full interview at Queerty.

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Ohio Judge To Rule Marriage Recognition Ban Unconstitutional

News coming out of Ohio that a federal judge will rule the state’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states to be unconstitutional.

From Buzzfeed:

In a docket entry summarizing the hearing, the court stated, “The Court anticipates striking down as unconstitutional under all circumstances Ohio’s bans on recognizing legal same-sex marriages from other states.”

Ohio’s 2004 law and constitutional amendment barring same-sex couples from marrying also bar the state from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples performed elsewhere. The case is not about whether Ohio must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but only the recognition portion of the state’s laws.

This case, brought in February on behalf of Brittani Henry and Brittni Rogers, initially was about birth certificates, and being able to have parents’ marriages recognized on them, but, per Friday’s docket entry, the decision will be finding the recognition ban unconstitutional “under all circumstances.”

The ruling is expected by April 14.

Should the state choose to appeal the ruling (very likely), the case would head to the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court where already lined up are cases regarding marriage equality from Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.

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Five years of marriage equallity in Iowa

Today is the five year anniversary of marriage equality in Iowa.

Five fantastic years! And for the naysayers – I checked and, nope, the sky has not fallen yet.

Freedom To Marry shares this beautiful first-person essay by David Twombley, who along with with his longtime partner Larry Hoch, five other same-sex couples, and Lambda Legal succeeded with their lawsuit in Iowa back in 2008 seeking the freedom to marry.

It seems impossible that nearly five years have gone by since our historic win for marriage equality in the Iowa Supreme Court. It’s wonderful to know that Larry and I have been married for five years this coming September.

What an incredible journey this has been. We both are often asked if we would do it again – the fight for equality, as well as getting married at all – and our response is always the same: “In a heart beat.” I know, personally, I would never have missed any of the years of planning and hoping.

Two of the strongest memories for me were the day of the hearing before the Supreme Court and the feeling following that we were going to win our lawsuit. Call it intuition or a hunch, but I think it was the tenor of the questions asked each side by the Justices and the answers that they received.

I know I was very optimistic, and I never lost that feeling.

The second memory, and the strongest: We had been sequestered from the press the morning the decision was to be announced – April 3, 2009 – we did not know the outcome as we came into the room to hear the official announcement. As we came in, I saw our good friends, Betty & Bruce Hunter, and Betty was crying when she looked at me.

My initial reaction was that we had lost the case! Of course, I found out soon that it was tears of happiness. My heart was beating so hard before Camilla Taylor made that wonderful announcement that we had been successful. I was squeezing Larry’s hand so hard – I’m glad I didn’t break any bones! The phone calls, e-mails and all other support we received were incredible.

It is a humble feeling to know that Larry and I are part of civil rights history in Iowa – and it is exciting to see the nation continue to move closer and closer to a future where same-sex couples across the country, in every state, can share in the happiness that Larry and I have shared for five years.

More Iowa marriage equality happiness below!

(via TRR reader Paul)

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Lesbian couple asks Indiana to recognize their marriage now due to terminal cancer diagnosis

Niki Quasney (right) and Amy Sandler

A lesbian couple in Indiana is asking the state to legally recognize their marriage performed in Massachussetts immediately as one spouse is terminally ill with cancer.

Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who live in Munster, Indiana. Quasney has been diagnosed with Stage IV cancer.

From the Advocate:

The women entered into a civil union in Illinois and married in Massachusetts in 2013, but they need their home state to recognize their marriage in order for them to receive numerous protections and benefits, including “the ability to access federal and state safety nets for surviving spouses and their children, and the right to a death certificate that accurately reflects their marriage,” notes a Lambda blog post. “Further, Ms. Quasney and Ms. Sandler frequently travel far from their home to receive medical treatment as a result of their prior experience with the local hospital suggesting it would defer to state law to determine whether a couple is married.”

Indiana law bans same-sex marriage, including recognition of such unions from other states. Unlike in some other states, though, the ban is not written into the state constitution.

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Days Of Our Lives to feature first-ever same-sex wedding this week

This week, long-running Days Of Our Lives will feature the first same-sex wedding in the history of daytime drama.

From Advocate.com:

Starting April 1, in a storyline that goes on for three consecutive episodes, Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis (the fan-favorite couple affectionately dubbed “WilSon” by fans) will tie the knot in a ceremony presided by a surprise officiant.

In 2012, the character of Will came to terms with his sexual orientation in powerful episodes that had audiences around the world captivated and rooting for the character to find love. A romance and the culminating engagement earlier this year has been among soap’s most popular storylines since then.

The announcement comes on the heels the show’s third GLAAD Award nomination for the storyline this year.

You can watch a tease of the upcoming ceremony below: