Tag: same-sex marriage

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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)

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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).

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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

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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)

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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.

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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

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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)

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Meet Colin & Joe – gay married binational couple

From The DOMA Project – meet Colin & Joe, binational married couple facing immigration uncertainty.

Were it not for the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” Joe and Colin would be able to stay in the US and plan their family life as any heterosexual couple can.

THE DOMA PROJECT is a campaign launched in October 2010 by a group of married binational couples working with attorneys Lavi Soloway and Noemi Masliah.

The campaign’s purpose is to raise awareness of the cruel impact of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on married gay and lesbian bi-national couples and to bring an end to that discrimination.

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France’s first gay married couple honeymoon in Tel-Aviv

As Gay Pride kicks off in Tel Aviv, France’s first gay married couple, Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau, are clearly enjoying life while honeymooning in ‘the White City.”

From the Times of Israel:

On Friday morning, after spending the night at the seaside mansion of French Ambassador Christophe Bigot, Autin and Boileau arrived at Tel Aviv’s Gan Meir for a morning of music and speeches before the annual Pride Parade.

“France has voted for the law of love,” Autin, a 40-year-old gay rights activist, told a group of reporters who gathered to greet him and his new spouse. “For us it’s very important to be a bridge, especially here in the Middle East, so that what’s happened in France, and the way we are received and embraced here, can become an example for the rest of the Middle East.”

Congratulations to the happy couple! More wine!