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Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Opponents of same-sex marriage in Washington are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take their case. A group headed by Bishop Harry L. Jackson which had opposed same-sex marriage in the city says it filed a petition with the high court on Tuesday, asking the justices to take their case.
Washington began allowing gay marriage in March. Jackson and opponents of gay marriage had previously argued in court that the issue of same-sex marriage should go before D.C. voters.
D.C. courts ruled, however, that city officials could pass a law barring initiatives from the ballot if they conflict with a city human rights law. The group plans to hold a news conference Wednesday.
[End of Article]
Full Story from WTOP
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Tags: d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, opponents, same sex marriage, supreme court, washington dc
Monday, September 13th, 2010
If the Republican Party regains control of Congress on Nov. 2, already-stalled pro-gay legislation would be dead — at least barring an uncharacteristically bold lame-duck action by Democrats. On the bright side, the prospects are fairly good for the District of Columbia to defend its marriage-equality law.
LGBT activists in D.C. have struggled with our congressional overlords for decades. Congress used a legislative veto against our sodomy law repeal in 1981, and an appropriations rider against our domestic partnership law in 1992. After Congress stopped obstructing domestic partnerships in 2001, D.C. passed more than a dozen bills incrementally strengthening that law. Our final step to full marriage equality last year was taken with one eye firmly fixed on Capitol Hill.
This battle testing leaves us ready, in the event of a GOP congressional takeover, to fight opponents like Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who failed to get even a majority of House Republicans to co-sponsor the D.C. Defense of Marriage Act in the 111th Congress.
Full Story from
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Tags: congress, d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, gop, marriage equality, republicans, same sex marriage, washington dc
Monday, July 26th, 2010
In yet another important win for marriage equality, the District of Columbia’s highest court ruled July 15 that the city government acted lawfully when it rejected a local minister attempt to place a referendum before voters that sought to roll back equal marriage rights for gay couples in the nation’s capital.
The ruling leaves intact marriage equality legislation, in effect in the District City Council since early March. But the ruling may not be the end of the battle for Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court and Congress may have the final word.
There were two questions before the D.C. Court of Appeals, which is the equivalent of a state supreme court. First, whether the proposed ballot measure was discriminatory or not, and second, whether the D.C. City Council had the authority to restrict a ballot initiative that violated a provision of city’s Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on the basis of sexual orientation and other categories.
Full Story from Keen News Service
Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.
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Tags: appeal, challenge, congress, d.c., dc, district of columbia, Gay Marriage, law, marriage equality, same sex marriage, supreme court, washington dc
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Years before the nation’s capital legalized same-sex marriage in March, one church in Washington, D.C., opened its doors to gay couples as part of its mission to establish an “inclusive body of Biblical believers.”
Pastors Christine and Dennis Wiley performed a 2007 commitment ceremony at their altar. That action split the historically black church, prompting half of the congregation to leave.
Yvonne Moore not only left Covenant Baptist, where she had worshipped for nearly 40 years: she filed a lawsuit for her weekly tithes because, as she said, “They didn’t respect the members enough to listen to us.”
Full Story from CNN
Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.
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Tags: african american church, d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, same sex marriage, washington dc
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
In the first three months of 2010, the court processed 376 applications. Since March 3 – when gay marriage became legal in the District – the marriage license office has received 2,082 applications. Based on the early numbers, the District is on target to issue four times as many marriage licenses this year as they did in 2009.
Figures collected by WTOP News about Washington’s spike in marriage applications and licenses, due primarily to the fact that DC is the first region in the area to offer legalized marriage to lesbian and gay couples.
WTOP estimates that if licenses were to continue at their increased pace, that the District could see a quadupling over last year’s figures. An extra bonus for the District is an increase in revenue for victims of violent crimes, since marriage license fees go to the Court’s Crime Victim’s Compensation Fund. (WTOP)
Full Story from Metro Weekly
Click here for gay marriage resources in Washington, DC.
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Tags: d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, marriage licenses, same sex marriage, washington dc
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
Life is good at home in Columbia with the Collins-McCarthy family. They have an 18-month-old son named Keegan. On Saturday, Kelly Collins and Tricia McCarthy will be married on a boat on the Potomac River.
“It’s something we’ve just always dreamt about. You know, we’ve been together nine years and we just have really looked forward to this day for a long time and we’re just really excited to be able to share it with our friends and family,” said Collins.
The courts in D.C. processed only 3,096 applications for marriage licenses all last year. Since the first legal same-sex weddings in the District back on March 9, 2,094 couples have applied to get married in the nation’s capitol.
Full Story from MyFoxDC
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.
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Tags: d.c., dc, district of columbia, Gay Marriage, increase, marriage equality, marriage licenses, same sex marriage, washington dc
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
A Utah Supreme Court ruling issued Friday could open a door to recognition of gay marriage, polygamy and underage marriage in Utah, an attorney says. Denver Snuffer believes the ruling about a divorce decree will have wide-ranging and unintended implications for the concept of marriage. But his opponent, attorney Rosemond Blakelock, whose client won under the ruling, says such a belief is poppycock.
She said the high court’s decision will apply only in a very narrow fashion to one Utah couple and perhaps a few others who are in the same situation, but she predicts this ruling will not produce the “wild things” that Snuffer fears and will not influence unions that do not already exist under state law.
The Utah Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that a 4th District judge who issued a divorce decree to Neldon and Ina Johnson in 2001 did have the authority to do that.
Full Story from Deseret News
Click here for gay marriage resources.
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Tags: court, d.c., district of columbia, divorce, Gay Marriage, hearing, marriage equality, same sex marriage, supreme court ruling appeal, ut, utah, washington dc
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
The D.C. Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday over gay marriage. In January, a D.C. Superior Court judge threw out a lawsuit by a Maryland pastor who wanted to put a measure on the D.C. ballot to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Bishop Harry Jackson sued after the Board of Elections and Ethics refused to approve the ballot initiative, saying it would violate the city’s Human Rights Act. The judge said the city was right.
Tuesday’s appeals court hearing will be before the full court. It’s rare for all of the judges to hear a case before it has been heard by a three-judge appeals panel, particularly when the lawyers in the case didn’t request the en banc hearing. Gay marriage became legal in Washington in March.
[End of Article]
Full Story from the Washington Post
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.
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Tags: appeal, court, d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, hearing, marriage equality, same sex marriage, washington dc
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Marriage applications have skyrocketed since the District started issuing licenses for same-sex couples this month, with droves of gay partners expected to relocate to the city from states where they can’t tie the knot.
About 1,100 marriage applications have been filed in the District since March 3, according to courthouse spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz, nearly six times the average monthly count.
Though the numbers are expected to fade in coming months, lawyers, politicians and gay activists say same-sex couples will continue to migrate to the District, leaving behind states where they aren’t recognized.
Full Story from the Washington Examiner
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.
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Tags: d.c., district of columbia, Gay Marriage, marriage equality, marriage licenses, same sex marriage, washington dc
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
Dupont Circle on a recent sunny afternoon: Workers on lunch break gather for impromptu picnics; others relax on park benches, drawn by the springlike warmth. And under one budding tree, barely noticed by a passing stream of pedestrians, Baltimore residents Jessica Leshnoff and Holly Beatty prepare to wed.
We gather today to marry Jessica and Holly. This is your time; this is your day. Today you once again declare your love and commitment to each other: this time sanctioned not only by your love, your vows and your solemn commitment, but by the law.
With these words officiant Todd Waymon of the Washington Ethical Society begins a simple ceremony that will grant the women the legal recognition they’ve yearned for during nine years together. Looking on are five friends and Leshnoff’s 88-year-old great-uncle Ben, who’s come from Florida.
Full Story from the Baltimore Sun
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.
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Tags: d.c., district of columbia, gay couples, Gay Marriage, lesbian couples, marriage equality, maryland, md, same sex marriage, washington dc, weddings
