Tag: same-sex marriage

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Three states see new lawsuits seeking marriage equality – Arizona, Florida and Indiana

Lots of legal action happening today in the world of marriage equality.

Via press release, Freedom To Marry announces a trio of federal lawsuits concerning marriage protections for same-sex couples filed in three different states today.

The cases – filed in Arizona, Florida, and Indiana – join more than 50 other lawsuits where same-sex couples are seeking the freedom to marry or respect for their marriages performed in other states.

Marriage equality litigation is currently pending in 28 different states, and in seven of these states, appeals are now before federal appellate courts.

Filed today:

ARIZONA

Lambda Legal filed this federal lawsuit – Majors v. Roche – in Arizona on behalf of seven same-sex couples – and the surviving spouses of two other same-sex couples – seeking the freedom to marry or respect for legal marriage licenses received in other states.

The plaintiffs include married same-sex couples, couples who want to marry in Arizona, and individuals whose same-sex spouses have passed away without Arizona ever respecting their status as a married couple. The lead plaintiffs are Nelda Majors and Karen Bailey (pictured), who are both in their 70s and have been together for more than 55 years.

FLORIDA

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed this federal lawsuit – Grimsley and Albu v. Scott – on behalf of SAVE, an LGBT organization in Miami and eight married same-sex couples seeking respect for their marriages legally performed in other states.

The lead plaintiffs are Sloan Grimsley and Joyce Albu, who work as a firefighter and a consultant assisting parents of children with developmental disorders, respectively. The women have been together for nine years, married in New York in 2011, and are raising a 2-year-old child together.

INDIANA

Lambda Legal filed this federal lawsuit – Baskin v. Bogan -on behalf of three same-sex couples seeking the freedom to marry in Indiana.

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Lance Bass for Marriage Equality in Mississippi

Mississippi residents Lance Bass and his fiancé Michael Turchin share why they are Southerners for the Freedom to Marry.

Via Freedom To Marry:

It’s an exciting time to be a Southerner, Randy.

Change is really happening down here, and it’s coming so much faster than I ever thought possible when I was growing up in Mississippi.

Despite the incredible progress we’ve made, not a single southern state has the freedom to marry yet — and it’s time we take our movement to the next level to make that happen.

People here in the South really do support loving same-sex couples and I know that from my own experience. We can win the freedom to marry here, but it’s going to take all of us working together. Let’s continue the conversation about why marriage matters.

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Quote of the day: Andrew Sullivan

Results from the latest Pew poll regarding marriage equality

From Andrew Sullivan’s essay today on the ever-rising support for marriage equality:

“Simply put: it’s extremely hard to oppose marriage equality when you know someone who is gay. It requires you to hold a position that clearly treats the human being in front of you as inferior – or at least it sure can feel that way.

“This doesn’t mean there isn’t a reasoned, theological argument that gays should be denied equal treatment under the law. It simply means that even if you hold that principled position, you will increasingly feel like an isolated asshole with gay friends, family members and colleagues.

“And few actively want to be an asshole.”

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Marriage News Watch – March 10, 2014

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From the American Federation for Equal Rights:

Two more polls show public support for marriage equality at a historic high — and our opponents at a historic low.

Marriages are happening early in Illinois, we have new lawsuits in Florida and Wyoming, and Kentucky’s Attorney General takes a stand against the state’s marriage ban.

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Poll: 61% of young Republicans support marriage equality

A new poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center reports that 61% of young Republicans under age 30 favor same-sex marriage.

Only 35% of Republicans and Republican-leaners under 30 are opposed.

Meanwhile, about 70% of independents and Democrats under 30 support marriage equality.

More proof why the legalization of same-sex marriage everywhere in America is merely a matter of time.

I vote for sooner rather than later.

Forward.

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New poll: Record high 59% of Americans support marriage equality

According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, a record high of 59% of Americans support marriage equality:

Half of all Americans believe that gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll in which a large majority also said businesses should not be able to deny serving gays for religious reasons.

Fifty percent say the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection gives gays the right to marry, while 41 percent say it does not.

Beyond the constitutional questions, a record-high 59 percent say they support same-sex marriage, while 34 percent are opposed, the widest margin tracked in Post-ABC polling.

Bolding is mine.

In addition, 65 percent of Americans across the country think businesses should not be able to refuse service to gay people even if it violates their religious beliefs.

Check out the graphic below for more results from the poll.

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Kentucky will NOT appeal ruling on same-sex marriage

The AP is reporting that Kentucky’s Attorney General has issued a statement saying the state will NOT appeal the recent ruling saying the state must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states:

Attorney General Jack Conway’s decision means same-sex couples in Kentucky who were married in other states will be allowed to pursue name changes, file joint tax returns with the state, and seek to have names added to birth certificates.

The Democrat said at a news conference that if he appealed, “I would be defending discrimination. That I will not do.”

Happy Dance Time!

UPDATE: Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced he’ll hire other counsel to represent the state in the case, known as Bourke vs. Beshear, in regard to appealing the district court decision against the marriage ban the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“General Conway has advised me that he will no longer represent the Commonwealth in Bourke vs. Beshear,” Beshear said. “The State will hire other counsel to represent it in this case, and will appeal Judge Heyburn’s decision to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and ask the court to enter a stay pending appeal.”

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Pennsylvania: Support for marriage equality climbs to 57%

Support for marriage equality grows to 57% in Pennsylvania

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday, Pennsylvania voters support a law that would allow same-sex marriage by 57-37 percent.

This represents a three percentage point increase from a Franklin & Marshall poll in October 2013.

Democrats favored the proposal 74-22 percent while Republicans opposed marriage equality 59-36 percent. The majority of independents, 58 percent, also supported the change.

Gender also played a role in determining attitudes towards legalizing gay marriage, with more Pennsylvania women supporting it than men — 60 and 53 percent respectively.

(via Huffington Post)

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Texas ban on marriage equality ruled unconstitutional

This gives the anti-gay forces a record of 0-5 in federal courts.

“Today’s court decision is not made in defiance of the great people of Texas or the Texas Legislature, but in compliance with the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court precedent,” Judge Orlando Garcia, a Clinton appointee, wrote. “Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our U.S. Constitution.”

From the San Antonio Express-News:

A federal judge in San Antonio has declared Texas’ ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia, however, also issued a stay, meaning the ban stays in effect for the time being.

One lesbian couple had to go to Massachusetts to get married, and they want Texas to recognize the union. A second gay couple have a courtship of 17 years and want to get married here in their home state.

Both sued the state in federal court aiming to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage, saying it is unconstitutional.

LGBT Advocates immediately issued statements on the ruling:

Freedom To Marry

“Today the 6th federal judge in a row has ruled – in Texas – that there is simply no legitimate justification for denying marriage to loving gay and lesbian couples. The court’s holding is solid and serious, and follows the language and logic of the Supreme Court’s marriage ruling last year and the Constitution’s clear command. With 47 marriage cases in 25 states now moving forward, and the possibility that a freedom to marry case will again reach the Supreme Court as soon as 2015, we must continue the conversations and progress — Texan to Texan, American to American — that show that all of America is ready for the freedom to marry.”

Human Rights Campaign

This injunction sends a powerful message that gay and lesbian Texans are being harmed every by inequality, and that these plaintiff couples who we’re proud to call members of the HRC family are very likely to succeed in striking down Texas’ ban on marriage equality. This is a historic day in the heart of the South, and I can’t stress enough how important it is to move quickly until loving couples in all 50 states feel the full reach of this victory for equality.” The Texas ruling comes on the heels of a year-long string of electoral, judicial and legislative victories for marriage equality. Recently the New Mexico Supreme Court and federal district judges in Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Ohio and Kentucky have ruled in favor of marriage for lesbian and gay couples.

Equality Texas

Chuck Smith, executive director of Equality Texas, called the decision “a huge victory that moves Texas one step closer to the freedom to marry.” “The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Windsor made it clear that animus or moral disapproval is not an acceptable justification for denying any American their constitutional right to equal protection of the law,” Smith said. “We are gratified to see Judge Garcia uphold the Constitution of the United States and declare that Texas’ restrictions on the freedom to marry are unconstitutional and unenforceable. We anxiously await the day when the United States Supreme Court will reach the same conclusion.”