Tag: same-sex marriage

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Lance Bass Marries Longtime Boyfriend Michael Turchin

Former boy bander Lance Bass married his boyfriend of 3 years, Michael Turchin, at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles yesterday.

The guest list included Pussycat Dolls co-founder Robin Antin, Christina Appelgate, Carmen Electra, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd, Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean and Gabourey Sidibe.

The festivities were filmed for a 90-minute special “Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding” set to air on Thursday, Feb. 5 on E!

“The whole wedding itself is very classy, you know. We wanted to plan something that could last for 100 years,” Bass told E! “When we show our grandchildren this amazing tape of our wedding, the best wedding video ever, I want them to be able to look at this and be like, ‘Wow, that stood the test of time.’ So we’re using a lot of elements in the wedding that are classy, and one of those is definitely our first dance. The song we chose is a song that lasts forever, something that is very special to us.”

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Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Admits Defeat On Same-Sex Marriage

Via press release, virulently anti-gay Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi issued this statement on the US Supreme Court’s denial of request to keep same-sex marriage from beginning in Florida January 6th:

“Tonight, the United States Supreme Court denied the State’s request for a stay in the case before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Regardless of the ruling it has always been our goal to have uniformity throughout Florida until the final resolution of the numerous challenges to the voter-approved constitutional amendment on marriage. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court has now spoken, and the stay will end on Jan. 5.”

Bite me, Pam Bondi. You lost.

You stood against equal rights for all, and you lost.

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SCOTUS Denies Florida Request For Extension Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling Stay

Florida’s Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi has spent months fighting rulings in favor of overturning her state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In fact, she recently asked the US Supreme Court to extend the current stay on one of those rulings as the case awaits it’s turn at the 11th Circuit Court.

Color me shocked, but that request was just denied.

Although Justice Clarence Thomas (who oversees such requests for the 11th Circuit) referred the matter to the full court – which decided against extending the stay – both he and Justice Scalia noted that they would have granted the extension.

Here’s the background on the case via Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

In August, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled against the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, known as Amendment 2, but placed a stay on his order until 91 days passed after the appeals process was completed in the Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia marriage cases. When the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review these cases, it set for date for same-sex couples to be able to marry in Florida starting Jan. 5.

Bondi tried to extend the stay on the same-sex marriages as she continued to defend the law in court, but her requests were by denied by the district court as well as the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered the stay to be lifted “at the end of the day” on Jan. 5.

Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida, issued this statement: “We are thrilled the U.S. Supreme Court has denied the State’s request to delay marriages in Florida. Every day of delay is another day of harm experienced by thousands of loving and committed same-sex couples in Florida. It’s time to break out the wedding bells! We look forward to January 6th being a special day — Florida is ready for the freedom to marry.”

I reported yesterday that Osceola County Clerk of the Courts Armando Ramirez has stated that if the stay was lifted, his courthouse would open at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 6 to issue marriage licenses and possibly perform services.

I mentioned I’m shocked as this is the first time that SCOTUS has denied such a request before a federal appeals court had ruled on the issue. That said, I think it’s a clear indication of the thinking of the high court in terms of marriage equality 🙂

Happy Dance Time!

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Florida County Clerk To Issue Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples At Midnight If Stay Expires

Depending on whether or not SCOTUS does or does not extend the current stay on a ruling which overturned Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage, the county clerk in Osceloa County plans to be open for business at the stroke of midnight January 6th to issue marriage licenses to couples wishing to marry.

From Osceloa-News-Gazette:

Osceola County Clerk of the Courts Armando Ramirez said he expected to process up to 30 licenses that night for gay couples who have long-waited for the right to marry.

“My wife and I will also be there personally to witness the historic moment,” Ramirez said. “I believe marriage is just a legal pact between two adults, and there needs to be a separation of church and state.”

Ramirez got approval to open the second-floor courthouse office where passports and marriage licenses are issued and $725 for a seven-person security detail from the Osceola County Commission this week.

I’m would wager that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will extend the stay on the ruling.

But it’s very kind of Ramirez to prepare just in case.

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Hawaii Supreme Court To Hear Marriage Equality Challenge – AGAIN

With over 3,000 same-sex couples married in Hawaii, GOP state Rep. Bob McDermott is like a dog with a bone as he takes the issue back to the state’s Supreme Court saying the Legislature did not have the authority to pass marriage equality into law last year.

From the court’s docket notice:

On appeal to this court, Respondents contend that the trial court erred in denying their motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, and in granting the Petitioners’ motion for summary judgment.

Respondents argue, inter alia, that the Hawai`i Marriage Equality Act is unconstitutional because in 1998, the people of Hawai`i voted to amend article 1, section 23 of the Hawai`i Constitution to state that “the legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.”

Respondents argue that the intent of this amendment was to constitutionally reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples, so the legislature was not authorized to pass the Hawai`i Marriage Equality Act.

In response, Petitioners argue that article 1, section 23 allows the legislature to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples, but does not require it to do so. Petitioners also argue that Respondents lacked standing to bring this lawsuit.

The hearing is scheduled for 11AM Hawaii time.

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Supreme Court Justice Thomas To Consider Extending Stay On Florida Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

On Monday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi requested the US Supreme Court consider an extension to the current stay on a federal district court’s ruling which struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas oversees requests from the 11th Circuit (which includes the state of Florida). Thomas could decide for himself whether or not to extend the stay or submit it for review by the entire Supreme Court.

Now, it looks like he’ll probably rule on his own, and most probably in favor of the extension.

From The Advocate:

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said late Tuesday that he will consider Florida attorney general Pam Bondi’s petition to extend a hold on marriage equality in the state, and he has asked plaintiffs’ attorneys to present their arguments for lifting the stay by Thursday.

[snip]

The stay was set to expire at the end of the day January 5, allowing same-sex couples to being marrying in Florida January 6, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals this month denied Bondi’s request for an extension. Bondi wants the stay to continue during the state’s appeal of Judge Robert Hinkle’s August ruling or, alternatively, until the Supreme Court decides whether to take up one of the four cases stemming from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold marriage bans in four states.”

Thomas has indicated in earlier cases that he leans toward granting such requests while rulings are still being reviewed.

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Marriage News Watch – December 15, 2014

From the American Foundation for Equal Rights:

• South Carolina’s anti-gay Attorney General may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to gay rights groups
• New research shows why marriage equality has been so successful so fast
• Hillary Clinton gets thanks for supporting the freedom to marry from an unlikely source

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Maryland Gets Economic Boost From Same-Sex Marriage

NerdWallet.com reports that Maryland’s economy banked $52.7 million from same-sex marriage.

In Maryland, where same-sex marriages have occurred since Jan. 1, 2013, the percentage of the population that identifies as LGBT is 3.3 percent from a population of 5,928,814.

An estimated 1,507 same-sex marriages occurred with an average cost of $34,995 spent on weddings bringing a total of $52,720,973 to Maryland’s economy.