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CA: Hearing Held Tuesday on Prop 8 Disclosure Order

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Lawyers for two gay couples told a federal appeals court Tuesday that they need access to internal communications from last year’s Proposition 8 campaign to show that the measure banning same-sex marriage was designed to sow “discriminatory animus” toward gays and lesbians.

Supporters of the measure that ended a five-month period when gay marriage was legal in California argued before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that their 1st Amendment rights would be infringed and future political discussions “chilled” if they were forced to reveal the thousands of e-mails sent out to campaign associates.

The battle over access to the sponsors’ internal strategy is part of a broader national debate over what is private and what is public in the world of politics, especially on hot-button issues such as gay rights and abortion.

Full Story from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gaymarriage2-2009dec02,0,5945451.story

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.

Posted in campaign documents, disclosure, hearing, internal records, prop 8, proposition 8, US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals | No Responses »

Australia: First Public Hearing on Gay Marriage Held Monday

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

The Greens have ramped up their push for same-sex marriage as the first, and only, public hearing for the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill Inquiry took place in Melbourne on Monday.

Greens leader Bob Brown and party spokeswoman for sexuality and gender identity Senator Sarah Hanson-Young launched a pro-gay marriage postcard campaign at Melbourne University a day earlier, pledging support for gay marriage ahead of next year’s federal election.

The postcard features a picture of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and another man arm-in-arm in front of a wedding cake with the words ‘Say I do, Mr Rudd…’ which the Greens will present to the PM.

Full Story from SSO: http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/2009/11/10/marriage-battle-showdown/18044

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Australia.

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.

Posted in australia, Gay Marriage, green party, greens, hearing, marriage equality | No Responses »

Recap of Monday's Gay Marriage Hearing in Washington, DC

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

THE FIVE-HOUR hearing last Monday before the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics seemed interminable, and the arguments from proponents of the so-called Marriage Initiative ranged from the absurd to the offensive to the pathetic. The question before the board was whether a proposal by a Maryland pastor to deny gay people the right to civil marriage (and forcibly divorce those D.C. couples already married) violated District law, which prohibits any referendum that would have the effect of “authorizing discrimination” against D.C. residents on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender.

Seemingly oblivious to the legal standard — that the D.C. Code, unlike, say California’s laws, actually bars a majority vote on a minority’s civil rights — person after person rose to testify to the patient, if astonished, board that gay people deserved no more civil rights than a “goldfish,” a “cobra,” or a “family pet.”

“Let us vote,” they thundered, citing everything from the Civil Rights Movement to Martin Luther King, with no apparent understanding that the majority of Alabama and Mississippi voters in the 1960s opposed civil rights for African Americans. Did they even know that it was the Constitution of the United States — enforced by people of good will of all colors, religions, and sexual orientations — that trumped the bigoted majority of that time? Did they realize that the primary organizer of the March on Washington was a gay man, Bayard Rustin? Or that King stood up for him at a time when being gay was a criminal offense?

Full Story from the Washington Blade: http://www.washblade.com/2009/11-6/view/editorial/15502.cfm

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.

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.

Posted in district of columbia, Gay Marriage, hearing, wahsington dc | No Responses »

Wisconsin Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Case

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

The Wisconsin supreme court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case that charges the 2006 referendum that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions was unconstitutional.

The plaintiff, William McConkey, believes the question put to voters in Referendum 1 violated the single-subject law in article XII, section 1 of the Wisconsin constitution.

The referendum stated, “Shall section 13 of article XIII of the constitution be created to provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state?”

Full Story from The Advocate: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/11/03/Wisn_Supreme_Court_Hears_Gay_Marriage_Case/

Planning to marry your partner? 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.

Posted in gay marriage case, hearing, unconstitutional, wi, wisconsin supreme court | No Responses »

Man Proposes to Partner During DC Gay Marriage Hearing

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Round two of the Washington D.C. council’s hearing on legalizing same-sex marriage was interrupted Tuesday when one of the witnesses stopped to propose to his partner.

“I’m taking a huge step in my own life,” said Andy Hertzberg. “I’d like to ask you: Would you marry me?”

His partner, Andy Rollman, said, “Yes.”

Full Story from The Advocate: http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2009/11/02/DC_Gay_Marriage_Hearing_Interrupted_By_Proposal/

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.

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.

Posted in district of columbia, Gay Marriage, hearing, proposal, washington dc | No Responses »

Second Gay Marriage Hearing Begins in DC

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

The debate over same-sex marriage continues as local lawmakers are set to begin hearing public testimony Monday in the second of two public hearings on the hot topic.

Over 150 people are expected to testify before City Council members in Monday’s session, starting at 9:30 a.m in the John A. Wilson Building.

Last month, D.C. Councilmember David Cantania – one of two openly gay members of the D.C. Council – introduced legislation that would make gay marriage legal in the nation’s capital.

Full Story from News Channel 8: http://www.news8.net/news/stories/1109/674230.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.

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.

Posted in district of columbia, Gay Marriage, hearing, washington dc | No Responses »

More Than 75 People Testify For and Against DC Gay Marriage Bill

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

The two sides of the same-sex marriage fight took their battle to the D.C. Council on Monday, with gay marriage supporters making their case for civil rights and equality and opponents raising the specter of tradition and God’s law.

At issue is openly gay Councilman David Catania’s proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in the District, as five states have done. The bill provides that members of the clergy would not be required to perform gay marriages against their beliefs.

“This issue for me is whether or not the public space in the District of Columbia is big enough to accommodate civil equality and religious freedoms,” Catania said.

Full Story from The Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/D_C_-Council-hears-from-both-sides-in-gay-marriage-debate-8442433-66188647.html

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.

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.

Posted in bill, district of columbia, Gay Marriage, hearing, washington dc | No Responses »

European Human Rights Court to Hear Russia Gay Pride Case

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

The European Court of Human Rights has combined cases stemming from Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s bans on gay-pride events in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and instructed Russian authorities to file a response by Jan. 20. “Our actions and pressure finally made them move,” said plaintiff Nikolai Alekseev. “It means that in one year we should have a decision.”

In February, Alekseev and others picketed the court demanding that the cases be prioritized. “This case is about a systematic denial of freedom of assembly for LGBT people in Russia since 2006,” Alekseev said. “But it goes beyond the LGBT borders and will help all human rights defenders and political groups as it will force Russia to change its law on demonstrations and public events.”

“We hope to have a decision before the fifth Moscow Pride scheduled for May 29, 2010,” he said. “Justice always comes, it’s only a matter of time.”

Full Story from Bay Times: http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=11663

Planning to marry your partner? 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.

Posted in court, european human rights, gay pride, hearing, russia | No Responses »