Tag: same-sex marriage

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Germany’s Parliament Approves Marriage Equality By Vote Of 393 – 226

Germany’s lower chamber of Parliament, the Bundstag, approved a measure by a vote of 393 to 226 to legalize same-sex marriage.

The vote came suddenly after Chancellor Angela Merkel softened her stance on the issue to allow a legislator’s to “vote their conscience” on this last day of the country’s legislative session.

Merkel herself voted against the measure, saying after the vote, “For me and the basic law, it’s about the marriage of a woman and a man. That’s why I voted against it. I hope that the vote today shows not only the mutual respect for different opinions but that this also leads to more peace and social cohesion as well.”

More from the New York Times:

“If the Constitution guarantees one thing, it is that anyone in this country can live as they wish,” Thomas Oppermann, the parliamentary leader of the Social Democrats, said in opening the floor debate. “If gay marriage is decided, then many will receive something, but nobody will have something taken away.”

“It’s very positive for the self-esteem of gays and lesbians; it’s very important for people coming out, knowing that they have this equality; and it sends a clear message to any homophobic refugees coming to Germany: We have equality here,” said Arnd Bächler, a counselor and addiction therapist at Berlin’s gay counseling center.

Approval of same-sex marriage in Germany could build momentum for similar legislation in other German-speaking countries, like Austria and Switzerland, said Katrin Hugendubel, advocacy director of ILGA-Europe, a gay and transgender rights group. She said the developments in Germany illustrated the difference that opposition parties could make.

The measure now goes to the upper house of Parliament, The Bundesrat, which has approved marriage equality before. The legislation will then be signed into law by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Polls show upwards of 80% of Germans support marriage equality.

Germany joins more than a dozen European countries that have approved same-sex marriage.

In 2001, Germany approved civil unions which conferred some but not all rights of marriage.

Conservatives in the country’s government have blocked the issue from coming to a vote in Parliament.

Congratulations Germany!

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Texas Supreme Court: No Inherent Right To Marriage Benefits For Same-Sex Couples

The Texas Supreme Court ruled today that just because the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision made same-sex marriage legal across the country, that doesn’t mean a guarantee of equal spousal benefits.

Which is bullshit.

From the American-Statesman:

A unanimous Texas Supreme Court concluded Friday that there is no established right to government-provided spousal benefits in same-sex marriages.

The 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established the right to same-sex marriage did not decide all marriage-related matters, leaving room for state courts to explore the decision’s “reach and ramifications,” the all-Republican Texas court said.

Supporters of gay marriage have vowed to appeal such a ruling to the federal courts, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court clearly stated that all marriages must be treated equally.

“The Texas Supreme Court’s decision this morning is a warning shot to all LGBTQ Americans that the war on marriage equality is ever-evolving, and anti-LGBTQ activists will do anything possible to discriminate against our families,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and the advocacy group GLAAD.

There are 9 Republicans and zero Democrats on the Texas Supreme Court.

To be clear, there is no ambiguity regarding the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality. Married same-sex couples are due the exact rights, privileges and benefits as opposite-sex married couples.

The SCOTUS Obergefell v. Hodges ruling clearly says the Constitution “entitles same-sex couples to civil marriage ‘on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples.’”

This week alone the U.S. Supreme Court slapped the state of Arkansas for trying to deny same-sex parents’ right to have both their names on a child’s birth certificate. And, SCOTUS did so without even hearing arguments.

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Germany Schedules Vote On Marriage Equality For Friday

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Wow, this happened fast.

According to the AP, the German Parliament has scheduled a vote to legalize same-sex marriage this Friday.

In the wake of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent comments indicating she could see legislators viewing the issue as a “decision of conscience,” Parliament’s legal committee has approved the vote.

Merkel has announced she will allow the vote to occur without any “party whip” and to vote their conscience.

Marriage equality is expected to pass easily according to sources.

Germany has allowed same-sex couples to enter into civil partnerships since 2001.

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Germany’s Chancellor Merkel Signals Possible “Conscience Vote” On Same-Sex Marriage

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Via The Guardian:

Angela Merkel has signalled a change in her party’s opposition to gay marriage after stating MPs should be allowed a free vote in the German parliament.

Speaking at an event organised by the magazine Brigitte, the German chancellor said she felt aggrieved that debate was mainly carried out along party lines and that she hoped it would be “headed towards a conscience vote”.

It is widely believed the Bundestag would legalise gay marriage in a free vote on the issue.

Germany is one of a few western countries where same-sex marriage is still not legal. Civil partnerships have been allowed since 2001, but Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union has resisted calls to open up marriage to same-sex couples.

The centre-right CDU, which has been governing as senior partner in a coalition with the centre-left SPD since 2013, has said it prefers to amend legislation so couples in a civil partnership have the same tax status and adoption rights as married couples.

Coming less than three months before federal elections, Merkel’s comments could take the wind out of her critics’ sails and open her party up to the widest possible range of post-election coalitions.

UPDATE: Check out the tweet below from Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democratic Party, the second largest party in parliament:

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Happy Marriage Equality Day! Support Reaches All-Time High Approval Of 62%

Hubby Michael and I getting married a second time in Palm Springs in 2008

Today is the 2nd anniversary of the historic Obergefell v. Hodges ruling from the Supreme Court which brought marriage equality to all fifty states. I think it was one of the happiest and joyful days of my life.

And, according to a new Pew Research poll, support for same-sex marriage among U.S. adults has reached an all-time high of 62%.

Pew has been tracking the opinions of Americans on marriage equality for two decades and found the biggest jump in support came during this past year with a 7-point uptick in support.

Terrific to see these numbers today, but there’s still work to do on LGBTQ rights.

We need to see The Equality Act passed into law. The legislation would ensure no one could lose their job, their home, or be denied services because of who they are or whom they love.

The bill has been introduced in Congress and enjoys bipartisan support, 242 members of Congress and more than 90 corporations now back the legislation. But sadly, it’s not enough. It’s highly doubtful the current Republican-controlled Congress will pass the bill.

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Supreme Court Will Decide Colorado/Same-Sex Wedding Cake Case, Strikes Down Arkansas Birth Certificate Law

The Supreme Court decided today, on the second anniversary of the Obergefell ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land, that it will review and rule whether a Colorado baker must sell a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage.

Via The Advocate:

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which a baker named Jack Phillips told a same-sex couple — David Mullins and Charlie Craig, pictured above — that he could sell them brownies but not a cake for their wedding. Phillips contends he’s an artist and that the First Amendment protects his business from having to bake a cake for a wedding that he opposes.

LGBT rights supporters say his refusal amounts to discrimination against same-sex couples, and the Colorado Civil Rights Commission agreed, which is what sent the case all the way to the Supreme Court. A ruling could have far-reaching effects on the myriad of ways LGBT opponents are trying to undermine marriage equality by claiming religious exemptions. Bakers, florists, photographers and more have claimed their religious beliefs give them the right to deny service.

I think it’s important to note that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law specifically states that businesses open to the public may not deny service to customers based on their race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

It’s the same as if the baker refused to make a cake for an African-American couple or a Jewish couple. It’s illegal.

The high court will hear the case in October.

In related marriage equality news, SCOTUS also ruled that an Arkansas law intended to stop birth certificates from listing the names of both parents in a same-sex couple was unconstitutional and summarily struck down.

Also from The Advocate:

“The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision, we conclude, denied married same-sex couples access to the “constellation of benefits that the State has linked to marriage,” the justices wrote.

“As already explained, when a married woman in Arkansas conceives a child by means of artificial insemination, the State will — indeed, must — list the name of her male spouse on the child’s birth certificate.

And yet state law, as interpreted by the court below, allows Arkansas officials in those very same circumstances to omit a married woman’s female spouse from her child’s birth certificate.

As a result, same-sex parents in Arkansas lack the same right as opposite-sex parents to be listed on a child’s birth certificate, a document often used for important transactions like making medical decisions for a child or enrolling a child in school.”

It’s telling that newly installed Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the dissent joined by Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

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A Whopping 47 People – Including Babies – Attend Anti-LGBT “March For Marriage 2017”

(image via Beth Ethier/Twitter)

Remember when virulently anti-LGBT Brian Brown, of the ironically named National Organization for Marriage, used to draw a crowd?

Well, not anymore.

Check out the photos and tweets from this year’s “March for Marriage” in Washington D.C. today.

According to Beth Ehtier, who counted every attendee – “including babies!” – Brown got a sad 47 bodies to the event.

Snork! #gleefuldancing

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Civil Rights Documentary THE FREEDOM TO MARRY Now Available VOD

Civil rights documentary, The Freedom To Marry, is available today on VOD and across digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.

Via press release:

This is the epic, untold story of how same-sex marriage became law of the land.

Documenting one of the greatest civil rights stories of our time, The Freedom To Marry is a nail-biting, behind-the-scenes story that traces the marriage equality movement’s historic progress, and reveals the masterminds of the movement they lead the fight to win same sex marriage throughout the United States.

The Freedom To Marry follows Evan Wolfson, the architect of the marriage movement, attorney Mary Bonauto, and their team through their decades long battle, culminating in a dramatic fight at the United States Supreme Court. More than the saga of one of the most importnant civil rights stories of our time, this is an inspiring tale of how a real change occurs, even against the biggest odds.

Directed by veteran doc filmmaker Eddie Rosenstein, produced by Jenni Olson & Amie Segal. .

The essence of the right to marry is the freedom to marry the person you choose.
– Evan Wolfson, architect of the Freedom To Marry movement

When something is wrong, you do something to change it.
– Mary Bonauto, landmark civil rights attorney (Obergefell vs. Hodges)

“Thoroughly moving and inspiring”
– Boston Globe

“Landmark…this summer’s hot documentary.”
– Curve Magazine

Watch the trailer below.

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Tens Of Thousands March In Warsaw “Equality Parade”

(photo via Twitter)

While Poland’s government continues to deny any legal recognition of same-sex couples, organizers of the 17th annual ‘Equality Parade’ say 50,000 people showed up yesterday in an effort to “draw attention to the rights of LGBT people, fight discrimination and promote acceptance of same-sex unions.”

Via Deutsche Welle:

Poland’s constitution is one of seven in the EU to ban gay marriage and the country is one of six in the 28-member bloc not to allow same-sex civil unions. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland came to power in late 2015 on a ticket of promoting traditional Polish values, family and Catholic traditions.

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Joe Biden Officiates DNC Staffer’s Wedding

Over the weekend, former Vice President Joe Biden officiated the wedding of Henry Muñoz, the Finance Chair for the Democratic National Committee, and his husband Kyle Ferari.

Actress Melanie Griffith captured the moment for Instagrammers with the caption, “My dearest friends Henry Munoz and Kyle Ferari were married today by VP Joe Biden. Wishing them everlasting love and a joyous life journey!”

This isn’t the first time Biden has officiated a same-sex wedding. You may recall last August genial Joe married White House staffers Brian Mosteller and Joe Mahshie.

Biden shared the happy news on Twitter at the time, writing, “Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house. Couldn’t be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys.”