LGBTQ news and entertainment
“I don’t see myself as a crusader.
“Some people have said I’ve broken the law, which I may have done. But I’ve broken an unconstitutional law. It’s not about me. It’s a serious equal protection argument at stake here.
“I don’t want to speculate about the outcome of the case. But I firmly believe that I’m on the right side of history.” – Pennsylvania Montgomery County Clerk Bruce Hanes
Add Los Alamos county to the growing list of counties issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in New Mexico.
The County Clerk, Sharon Stover, didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon, but a district judge ordered the licenses be issued:
Janet Newton and Maria Thibodeau were denied a marriage license last week and they filed a lawsuit that led to a ruling by District Court Judge Sheri Raphaelson that same-sex couples are entitled to be married in New Mexico.
Los Alamos County Clerk Sharon Stover went to court Wednesday to defend her decision, but the judge ruled against the clerk.
Seven of the state’s 33 counties are issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and number 8, Grant County, plans to start granting licenses next week.
Grant County becomes the seventh county in New Mexico issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.
LGBTQ Nation reports:
Grant County Clerk Robert Zamarripa said his office will comply with a judge’s ruling issued Tuesday and will begin providing the licenses next week. “We’ll let the Legislature and courts decide after this what needs to be done,” Zamarripa said in a telephone interview.
His comments came shortly after District Judge J.C. Robinson issued an order requiring the clerk to issue marriage licenses “on a nondiscriminatory basis” to same-sex couples.
Meanwhile, the county clerk for Los Alamos county will go back to court after defying a judge’s order to start issuing the licenses to same sex couples.
The Albuquerque Journal reports:
Los Alamos County Clerk Sharon Stover said on Tuesday that she will defy a court order to issue marriage licenses to couples regardless of sexual preference.
Stover made the announcement in response to a judge’s ruling last week that she issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples or appear in court to explain why that shouldn’t happen.
A district court hearing on the matter is set for tomorrow.
Stover said in a statement that New Mexico’s marriage laws haven’t been changed since the 1960s, and the law includes a marriage license application with sections for male and female applicants.
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett said Thursday it was inappropriate for his lawyers to include a reference to children in a legal brief involving same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses.
Corbett’s administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to block same-sex marriage licenses in suburban Philadelphia, where Montgomery County Register of Wills D. Bruce Hanes has issued more than 150 to gay and lesbian couples since July 24.
State attorneys, in a court filing Wednesday, made an analogy to a pair of 12-year-olds, saying if the children were issued a marriage license and tried to defend it in court, they wouldn’t be taken seriously because the license was never valid.
“Had the clerk issued licenses to twelve-year-olds in violation of state law, would anyone seriously contend that each twelve-year-old has a legally enforceable ‘interest’ in his ‘license’ and is entitled to a hearing on the validity of his ‘license,’ else his due process rights be violated?” the brief said. “Obviously not.”
Corbett released a statement Thursday calling it a poor analogy:
“The case involving Montgomery County revolves around a very basic question: Does a public official have the authority to disregard state law based on his own personal legal opinion about the constitutionality of a statute?” he said. “The analogy chosen in the legal brief filed on August 28th is inappropriate.”
Equality Pennsylvania issued a statement earlier Thursday taking his lawyers to task over the legal argument:
“If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that all people deserve to be treated with respect,” said the group’s executive director, Ted Martin. “The statements made by the attorneys do not simply defend the laws of the state; they deny loving, committed same-sex couples the dignity they deserve.”
(source)
“For the record, I love my sister, but she is dead wrong on the issue of marriage. Freedom means freedom for everyone. That means that all families — regardless of how they look or how they are made — all families are entitled to the same rights, privileges and protections as every other. It’s not something to be decided by a show of hands. Please like and share if you agree.” – Mary Cheney (above right), writing today on her Facebook page.
Mary married her partner in Washington DC last summer.
Yesterday Liz Cheney, currently running for the US Senate in Wyoming, announced that she opposes same-sex marriage.
(via JMG)
National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown issued a statement denouncing the IRS’ change in policy regarding same-sex married couples this week, claiming it is yet another government attempt to force gay marriage on an “unwilling public.”
“The Treasury Department is grossly overstepping its authority,” said Brown. “This is a nation of laws. Only Congress has the authority to change the law….[the] Obama administration is intent on forcing same-sex ‘marriage’ on an unwilling public.”
A recent Gallup poll shows 54% of Americans surveyed said they believe same-sex marriages should be legally recognized and afforded all the same rights and privileges that come with opposite-sex marriage.
So, there.
The latest on the New Mexico county clerks who are asking the state Supreme Court for a ruling on the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
The state currently has no law on the books outlawing marriage equality.
Big news for same-sex married couples as the Federal government has now issued a ruling by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew that says, in terms of tax policy, the state of celebration is what counts – NOT the state of residence.
Yep, the ruling applies even to gay couples that live in states where their union is not recognized — so long as they were married in a state that allows same-sex marriage.
From the Huffington Post:
Thursday’s ruling by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew provides a uniform policy for the IRS; the state of celebration — where the wedding took place — now trumps the state of residency when it comes to federal tax status for same-sex married couples.
“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide. It provides access to benefits, responsibilities and protections under federal tax law that all Americans deserve,” Lew said in a statement. “This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”
Under the new Treasury policy, all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, employee benefits, IRA contributions, earned income, child tax credits, and income, gift and estate taxes, will apply to same sex couples regardless of where they live.
The Human Rights Campaign responds:
“With today’s ruling, committed and loving gay and lesbian married couples will now be treated equally under our nation’s federal tax laws, regardless of what state they call home,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “These families finally have access to crucial tax benefits and protections previously denied to them under the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.”
The ruling does not apply to those in registered domestic partnerships or civil unions. So, for states like New Jersey, where the governor is trying to argue that civil unions are equal to full marriage – this underlines how civil unions and domestic partnerships fall short of full equality.
New Mexico State Senator William Sharer, in an effort to explain his opposition to marriage equality, suggested that gay men should stop “whoring” around and marry women instead.
Sharer is behind a Republican legal effort to stop six New Mexico counties from issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.
In a blog post published Friday, Sharer noted that Alexander the Great “may have engaged in homosexual activity, but he married a woman.”
“[Alexander the Great] directed his officers to stop ‘whoring’ around and find a local woman to marry.”
“’It is only through blood relations that hatred and war will end.’ In other words, Alexander the Great thought that marriage was about creating and raising the next generation,” Sharer wrote.
He went on to suggest that allowing gay couples to marry could lead to the end of the human race: “As marriage goes, so go the children, so goes the nation, so goes the world.”
However, Sharer does want to make it clear he totally has no animosity towards gays and lesbians.
I’m sure some of his best friends are gay.
Riiiiight….
(source)