February, 2011

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WY: Constitutional Ban on Gay Marriage Does After Missed Procedural Deadline

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Wyoming Gay MarriageA proposed amendment to the Wyoming Constitution that would have banned recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, expired Friday when it missed a procedural deadline set in the state House.

However, another measure still pending would change Wyoming law to specify that the state would only recognize a marriage as being between one man and one woman.

There has been contentious debate in both Wyoming’s House and Senate over whether or not same-sex couples who entered civil unions elsewhere would have access to the state’s court system to resolve any issues that arise in their relationships.

Full Story from LGBTQ Nation

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

MD: Marriage Equality Bill Likely to Pass House Committee Tuesday

Monday, February 28th, 2011

A bill giving gay and lesbian couples the same rights as their counterparts is set to pass an important House committee on Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate last week.

“We have nearly 68 delegates willing to support the measure,” Thom Shanker, a gay rights advocate in Maryland, told Politically Illustrated. “We only need a few more to guarantee that gay and lesbian couples in Maryland receive the same rights as straight couples.”

The bill needs the support of 22 delegates to pass the committee – sponsors of the bill hold 12 of the committee’s 22 seats, making the chance of passage cocksure. But approval by the full House is still uncertain.

Full Story from Politically Illustrated

Click here for gay marriage resources in Maryland.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Too Late for Last-Ditch Prop 8 Appeal By Imperial County?

Monday, February 28th, 2011

There is a certain smell in the air when it comes to the battle over marriage equality and Prop 8 in California- the smell of privilege and rank. In other words, these are people who want to break the rules so that they can continue to be bigots. Imperial County Clerk-Recorder Chuck Storey has asked to be allowed to intervene in the Prop 8 appeal in order to appeal the decision by Judge Vaughn Walker overturning Prop 8.

There is one slight problem- and it’s a doosy. The deadline to file to appeal the ruling passed six months ago.

It does not matter if Storey has standing with regards to the facts of the case. While it is correct that his job as the elected Clerk-Recorder for that county would be impacted, bad legal advice given to one of his deputies means that he has no right to file the appeal because of the lapsed time. Storey wrote in his filing to intervene “I am concerned that an unappealable ruling by a single district court striking down Proposition 8 would create significant confusion for me and other Imperial County deputy clerks and officials in the performance of our legal duties regarding marriage.”

Full Story From Lez Get Real

Click here for gay marriage resources in California.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

IA: Anti Gay Focus Shifts From Judges to Process of Selecting Them

Monday, February 28th, 2011

With the Iowa Supreme Court set to return to its full complement of seven members, some are wondering whether efforts to oust justices who supported a gay marriage ruling will resume.

Gov. Terry Branstad last week appointed three people to the court, filling vacancies that arose when voters chose not to retain three judges who had supported a unanimous 2009 decision that found a state law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples violated the Iowa Constitution.

Another justice who backed the ruling — David Wiggins — will be up for a retention vote in 2012, and justices Brent Appel, Mark Cady and Daryl Hecht will be on the ballot in 2016.

Full Story from TH Online

Click here for gay marriage resources in Iowa.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Marriage Equality Events Today/Tomorrow: New York, Beverly Hills

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Gay Marriage Events February 28th-29th, 2011Here’s our list of events today and tomorrow around the world relating to marriage equality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and other LGBT equality issues. If you know of any other events – rallies, meetings, phonebanking, etc – please use the link below to add your event to our list!

–USA, Nationwide: 03/01, Lambda Legal Teleconference on New IRS Rules for Gay/Lesbian Couples in WA, CA & NV, Phone, 7 PM.
–USA, CA, Beverly Hills: 02/28, LA Equal Roots Meeting, 8106 Santa Monica Blvd, 7:30-9:30 PM.
–USA, NY, TBA: 03/01, Queer Rising Marriage Equality Protest, TBA, TBA.

Full Events List/Add Your Own Event: http://www.purpleunions.com/mn/gay-marriage-events-list.html

Matt Baume’s This Week in Prop 8

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Tipped by Joe My God, Matt Baum’s This Week in Prop 8, where Matt covers all the Prop 8 related news from the previous week. Enjoy!

US: House to Decide This Week Whether or Not to Defend DOMA

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Under federal law, whenever the Executive branch declines to defend a law it believes is unconstitutional, the Attorney General must inform Congress of that decision. Congress can then decide whether or not to defend the law. We’re seeing that play out now on DOMA. Now, it’s up to the House to decide what to do. Yesterday, via On Top Magazine, Boehner talked to Christian Broadcasting Network about options on DOMA. Here are some excerpts from CBN:

Speaker John Boehner: “We’ve been researching all the options that are available to us. We’ll be talking to the members in the next few days about that and I expect we’ll have a decision by the end of the week.”

David Brody; “Rick Santorum says that the Speaker of the House should appoint a counsel representing the House of Representatives to take up the case and argue DOMA in federal court. Is that a good idea?”

Speaker John Boehner: “It’s an option being considered.”

Full Story from America Blog

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

MD: Judiciary Committee Hears Seven Hours of Testimony on Marriage Equality Bill

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Maryland House Judiciary Committee HearingMembers of the Maryland House Judiciary Committee heard more then seven hours of testimony Friday as state residents and leaders of national organizations voiced their opinions both for and against the legalization of same-sex marriage.

The hearing came a day after the Senate passed the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which changes the definition of marriage from “between a man and a woman” to “between two individuals.” It allows churches to refuse to perform same-sex unions if the practice violates their beliefs.

The Judiciary Committee heard two similar House bills Friday as well as a bill sponsored by Delegate Don Dwyer (R-Glen Burnie), a primary opponent of same-sex marriage, that would create a Constitutional amendment that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Full Story from the Glen Burnie Patch

Click here for gay marriage resources in Maryland.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Surviving Widow’s Devastating Tax Bill Cited By Obama Administration in DOMA Defense Change

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer had a 40-year engagement and a two-year marriage, starting with a wedding in Canada recognized under the laws of New York, where they lived, and ending when Spyer died two years ago.

Her death triggered a $363,053 federal tax bill from which her widow would have been exempt had she been married to a man, because the federal Defense of Marriage Act bars the U.S. government from recognizing same-sex unions.

Windsor’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the act was one of two cited by the Obama administration to justify its decision to stop defending the law. The decision may be a turning point in the fight over putting same-sex marriages on the same footing as heterosexual unions.

Full Story from Bloomberg

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

WY: Last Week of Legislative Session Could See Final Passage of Anti Gay Marriage Bill

Monday, February 28th, 2011

Monday starts the last week of the 61st Legislature’s General Session. We give you a sneak peak at the final week’s Legislative action. Bill 74, validity of marriages, will go to lawmakers possibly Monday for a concurrence vote on the conference committee comprise.

[The house] stripped out Senate language in the anti-gay measure or pro- traditional marriage bill depending on whom you talk to, that would’ve opened the door to civil unions legal in other states and countries, guaranteeing those folks access to Wyoming courts to settle a civil union dispute.

For example an annulment. Unions have never been legal in Wyoming.

Full Story from KGWN

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook – just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you’ll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We’re also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.