Tag: same-sex marriage

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Colorado’s same-sex marriage ban repealed

U.S. District Judge Raymond P. Moore has ruled Colorado’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

He has stayed his ruling until Monday, August 25th..

State Attorney General John Suthers had asked for the ruling, in an unusual tactic, to get county clerks across the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Included in his request was that the ruling be stayed until the issue reached it’s ultimate conclusion.

Boulder County Clerk Hillary Hall has been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since last month, when the 10th Circuit agreed with a lower court that Utah’s same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Hall has stated that the 10th Circuit’s stay in the Utah case only applies to Utah, BUT the ruling against marriage bans applies to the whole Circuit, which includes Colorado.

More to come as details are available.

(via ThinkProgress)

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Louisiana: Federal judge doesn’t need any more briefs to reach ruling

A federal judge in Louisiana says he doesn’t need any more briefs or arguments to make his decision in a same-sex marriage case.

From The Republic:

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has already heard arguments regarding Louisiana’s refusal to recognize the unions of gay couples legally married in other states. At the end of that hearing he asked for briefs on related issues — including whether the state’s refusal to let same-sex couples marry in Louisiana is constitutional. Feldman said he didn’t want to make a piecemeal ruling on the gay marriage issue.

Feldman this week issued an order stating that he has studied the briefs in the case and found that no further briefs or arguments are needed. He gave no indication when he will rule.

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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.

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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.”

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Marriage News Watch – July 21, 2014

This week from the American Foundation for Equal Rights:

• A big win in Florida
• Colorado supreme court orders two counties to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples
• An appeals court sets the date for oral arguments for two states, then says “never mind”
• The Department of Justice says it will file briefs in support of marriage equality when it reaches SCOTUS

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Sears supports same-sex marriage

Sears brought four same-sex couples to Chicago Pride where they were married aboard a float during the recent Chicago Pride Parade.

It’s worth noting that not every major retailer – and who’s more MAJOR than Sear? – makes such support for same-sex marriage so clear and unequivocal.

As a gay man married over a decade (with my husband for almost 20 years) I never did the wedding registry thing. We were a little ahead of the retail world in that respect.  But sure wish I had. Sears welcomes same-sex couples at their wedding registry.

Let’s face it – every young (or old) couple starting out together can use some wedding gifts. And Sears is happy to welcome you.  (Where else do you buy your washer/dryer and other appliances???)

Not every store out there is willing to put that out there in such public terms.

Thanks Sears!

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott gives ANOTHER perplexing answer to the press

This week Florida Circuit Judge Luis Garcia ruled the state’s gay marriage ban unconstitutional, which should have meant gay couples could begin marrying in the Florida Keys as early as next week.

However, Attorney General Pam Bondi has already filed an appeal which triggered an immediate stay of the ruling for now.

FOX4 News asked Gov. Rick Scott about his thoughts on the ruling and same-sex marriage in the state.

The answer, in true Rick Scott form, is hard to decipher.

How this guy got elected, I’ll never know. He can’t give a straight answer; clearly he’s in election mode where he’s afraid of pissing off ANYBODY.

But the surest way to lose an election is play both sides of the fence, Rick.

And by the way, don’t his eyes look strangely dilated?…

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SCOTUS grants Utah’s request to stay court order recognizing same-sex marriages

US Supreme Court has granted Utah’s appeal to stay a court order instructing the state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in state.

The order affects more than 1,000 married same-sex couples in Utah.

The temporary stay from the 10th Circuit Court was due to expire on Monday at 10am.  So just before 5pm EST the Supreme Court issued the court order granting stay during the appeal process.

It appears that Justice Sonia Sotomayor referred the request to the full Supreme Court.  See court order below.

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Florida hate group leaders says denying equal rights to gays “worth dying for”

Anti-gay rights activist John Stemberger

John Stemberger, the man who led the 2008 campaign to outlaw same-sex marriage in Florida, is outraged over recent court decisions moving the state towards marriage equality:

“This is an issue worth dying for,” said Stemberger, president and general counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council in Orlando. “Every domestic partnership, every single civil union, every couple that cohabitates, these arrangements dilute and devalue marriage.”

Stemberger said he wasn’t “daunted” by Garcia’s ruling, nor was he surprised.

“The court was very hostile to our position,” he said. “This is a very sad day for Floridians. This is an entirely illegitimate process. The judge had no legal authority in this decision.”

I think it’s quite clear that Judge Luis Garcia, who ruled on the Monroe County same-sex marriage lawsuit, HAS legal authority in the case.

Sore loser, Mr. Stemberger. Sore loser.

Or, maybe, just “loser.”

In the video below, Stemberger shares his views on the ruling in Key West, plus tells viewers that “you can’t have a civil society without natural marriage” – which, of course, we still do have.  No one has taken away heterosexual marriage.  And closes by assuring viewers that he and his fellow haters plan on “fighting harder, stronger and faster” to keep gays and lesbians from having the freedom to marry.

What a guy…

(via Miami Herald)

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10th Circuit Court of Appeals says Oklahoma same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a historic ruling affirming the January 2014 decision from U.S. District Judge Terence Kern in Bishop v. Smith that Oklahoma’s constitutional amendment barring marriage for same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution.

The 2-1 decision was authored by Judge Carlos Lucero, who was joined by Judge Jerome Holmes – a President George W. Bush appointee.

From the majority decision:

“Facts and arguments presented in this case differ in some respects from those in Kitchen. But our core holdings are not affected by those differences. State bans on the licensing of same-sex marriage significantly burden the fundamental right to marry, and arguments based on the procreative capacity of some opposite-sex couples do not meet the narrow tailoring prong.”

The ruling comes after the same panel ruled June 25 that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution. It was the first time an appellate court determined last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act means states cannot deny gays the ability to wed.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel put its Oklahoma and Utah rulings on hold pending an appeal. Utah’s attorney general has said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

You can read the entire ruling below: