California moves fast – same-sex marriage can begin immediately

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has dissolved a stay on Judge Walker’s injunction in California and gay and lesbian couples can begin marrying immediately.

From the AP:

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a brief order Friday saying it’s lifting the stay it imposed while a lawsuit challenging California’s gay marriage ban worked its way through the courts.

That means same-sex marriages can resume in the state for the first time since 2008.

Here’s the celebration statement from the Human Rights Campaign:

“After four and a half long and painful years, justice for committed gay and lesbian couples has finally been delivered. In California, a time of struggle and indignity are over, and love, justice and freedom begin anew. And now, no election, no judge – no one – can take this basic right away. At long last, marriage has finally returned to the most populous state in the nation.

“Kris Perry and Sandy Stier’s twin sons were just starting high school when their moms’ right to marry was taken away, now, as they prepare to start college, they will finally see their family recognized in the eyes of their state and their country. Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, now free to marry, can finally plan the family they’ve always wanted. Thousands upon thousands of lives are about to change for the better, for good. And young LGBT people across the Golden State will can today look forward to a future where they are truly and fully equal.

“Today is a day of profound celebration, but tomorrow – and every day from here on out – we will fight until joy, dignity, and full equality in all its forms reach each and every corner of this vast country.”

Rick Santorum can’t see the direction of history

As little Ricky marches to irrelevance…

Rick Santorum thinks the tide of marriage equality can still be turned back, and that the Supreme Court ruling overturning DOMA renders marriage in its current form “unconstitutional.”

But don’t worry. He’s wrong about things all the time. He’s used to it.

So, there.

President Obama: If you’re married and you move, you’re still married

Speaking the day after an historic Supreme Court ruling striking down the key portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Obama said the benefits of being married should extend to same-sex couples no matter where they live. Twelve states (soon to be 13 with California), plus the District of Columbia, currently allow same-sex marriage, while 35 states ban it.

“If you’ve been married in Massachusetts and move somewhere else, you’re still married,” Obama said in Dakar, Senegal, in a response to a question from CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jessica Yellin. “Under federal law, you should be able to obtain the benefits of any lawfully married couple. But again I’m speaking as a president not a lawyer.”

Saying he’s directed the federal government to ensure statutes that apply to married people are now properly extended to same-sex couples, Obama explained the Wednesday ruling did not mean that same-sex marriages were permitted nationwide.

“The Supreme Court did not make a blanket ruling that applies nationally, but rather lifted up the ability of states to recognize and respect same-sex marriage, and that the federal government couldn’t negate the decision by those states,” Obama said.

(from CNN)

Updated marriage equality map June 2013

From McClatchy-Tribune comes this updated map of marriage equality in the US.

Just my opinion, but the next states we may be looking to for full equality would seem to be Hawaii, Illinois and New Jersey (which currently have civil unions), plus New Mexico (which has no law recognizing or banning same-sex marriage).

Rally in Las Vegas to celebrate marriage equality victories

photo credit: Anthony Pecora

Under a clear blue sky in 105 degree heat,  Nevada LGBT leaders held a rally – part celebration, part battle cry – at the fab new Gay & Lesbian Community Center, following Supreme Court rulings Wednesday that shot down DOMA and Prop 8.

Hosted by Las Vegas’ favorite news anchor, Chris Saldana, community leaders and allies took to the stage to cheer the day and point to the battles ahead.

While Nevada doesn’t allow same-sex marriage currently, the ruling opens the door for questions about the protections of rights for same-sex couples here in the Silver State.  In the last legislative session, both the Assembly and the Senate approved SJR13, the first step to repeal the same-sex marriage ban and give the rights of marriage equality to gay and lesbian couples of Nevada.

In attendance were Chris Miller (co-chair of LGBTQ Coalition), Merek Bute (president of AFAN), Tod Story (ACLU of Nevada), Assemblyman James Healey, Sen. James Parks, Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (only GOP vote for marriage equality bill SJR13 this past legislative session), Sen. Pat Spearman, Assemblyman Paul Aizley, Sen. Ruben Kihuen, Sen. Justin Jones, and Assemblyman Andrew Martin (co-sponsor of SJR13).

Over and over, LGBT leaders and allies sent the message: “The fight for same-sex marriage is not over. The fight for equality is not over. And we need you.”

Rally host Chris Saldana gets the rally started

The crowd celebrates the day

Openly gay Assemblyman James Healy addresses the crowd

GOP Assemblywoman and ally Michele Fiore and her lesbian mom take the stage

Ryan Lyons of Le Reve and Broadway Bares shares a breather in the heat with Chris Saldana
Thanks for the beef cake, boys.

 Openly gay Sen. David Parks

Openly lesbian Sen. Pat Spearman

Marriage Equality “Decision Day” rallies all over the USA

At United For Marriage, they have compiled an interactive map showing locations for “Decision Day” rallies regarding the SCOTUS marriage equality decisions to be released tomorrow morning.

In Las Vegas, folks will be meeting at the new Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 5pm.

Click here for Las Vegas details.

Click here to check for a rally near you.

(via JMG)

Quick history of Prop 8

In advance of a possible ruling coming this Monday from the Supreme Court on the fate of Prop 8, the American Foundation for Equal Rights has assembled a five minute “history” of this hideous law.

SCOTUS releases rulings on Mondays, and the 17th and the 24th are the last two Mondays left in this session.

Hopes are very high that all of the previous rulings from lower courts will be upheld and Prop 8 will be history soon, allowing marriage equality to resume in California.

On the small chance that SCOTUS does not strike the law down, activists plan to head back to the voters as recent polls show as much as 61% support for gay marriage in California now.

It’s happening, kids. No matter what. It’s happening.

A Tale of Two Dads from Freedom To Marry

Mark Maxwell and Tim Young of North Carolina are foster parents to four boys ranging in age from 12 to 23. They are unable to jointly adopt the boys because despite being married in Washington, DC this year, the state of North Carolina prohibits adoption by same-sex couples.

Mark and Tim share their story of why marriage matters so much to their family.

Click here for more from Freedom to Marry

Tour de France to be targeted by anti-gay marriage protest

The anti-gay marriage activists are not going away.

Their new target?  The Tour de France.

The Local reports:

“From June 29th to July 21st, we will have an incredible global visibility  to show our fight against the law,” read a statement on a new Facebook page created to inspire protesters to line the 3,360-kilometre route.

And while the first stage of the race will get rolling on the island of Corsica, the remaining 20 stages will cover well near every corner of mainland France, offering protestors across the country the chance to snatch a bit of prime-time coverage.

Their Facebook page implored would-be demonstrators to send private messages with points on the route they would consider protesting at, giving the impression that the ‘Tour Pour Tous’ (Tour for all) will try to organize as wide a coverage of the famous event as possible.

The page also launched the hashtag #tourpourtous to prompt users on the social media site Twitter to rally to the protesters’ defence. By Wednesday, proponents and opponents alike had begun using the keyword to trade jibes.

Anti-gay activists have already targeted the French Open with a flaming protester.

(source)