New Bill Would Allow Ca. to Recognize Gay Marriages from Other States

"(From The Sacramento Bee) A proposed law to recognize a growing number of same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries is winding its way through California's Legislature.

Opponents of gay marriage say Senate Bill 54 violates Proposition 8, a voter initiative approved last November that amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

The bill's sponsor contends that his proposed changes to state family law are consistent with the California Supreme Court's nuanced decision in May to uphold Proposition 8.

The court's decision upheld the right of voters to bar gay couples from the label "marriage," acknowledged SB 54's author, Sen. Mark Leno, an openly gay Democrat from San Francisco.

But the court, Leno noted, also upheld an estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California before the gay-marriage ban was approved. Those marriages took place after the justices ruled in May 2008, in a separate decision, that California's constitution at that time did not prevent same-sex marriage.

The high court did not address how to treat out-of-state marriages, explaining in a footnote that none of the parties involved in lawsuits represented such interests."

Federal judge moves to fast track legal fight over Proposition 8

(From mercurynews.com)

"SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge Thursday refused to temporarily block Proposition 8, moving forward with his plan to put the latest legal challenge over California's gay marriage ban on a fast track to a trial that is likely to produce the most thorough review to date of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

With all sides in the legal battle poised for a fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker agreed with Attorney General Jerry Brown and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, concluding that it would cause too much confusion across California if he chose to suspend Proposition 8 while the challenge to the voter-approved gay marriage ban unfolds in the courts. Brown has nevertheless sided with gay marriage advocates on the overall lawsuit, agreeing that Proposition 8 violates the federal equal protection rights of gay and lesbian couples by denying them the ability to marry.

Walker told a packed courtroom that his job is to establish a full record on the legal tangle over gay marriage because he will not be the final word in a case that many legal experts believe will force the U.S. Supreme Court to address the issue.

"What happens here is only a prelude to what is going to happen later," Walker said."

San Francisco Asks Court to Overturn Prop 8

(From the San Francisco Chronical) San Francisco has asked a federal judge to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage, allying the city with a lawsuit that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

In papers filed Thursday night in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office argued that Proposition 8 was motivated by hatred of gays and lesbians and violates their constitutional right to be free of discrimination.

Although sponsors of the November ballot measure said they were trying to promote traditional marriage and protect children, "excluding same-sex couples from marriage does nothing to advance those goals," Chief Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart said in the 49-page brief.

Prop. 8's "real aim (was) harming gays and lesbians and expressing moral disapproval of them," Stewart said.

In arguing to throw out Prop. 8, Stewart cited the Supreme Court's 1996 ruling that struck down Colorado's ban on state and local gay-rights measures and said a law motivated by hostility toward gays and lesbians is unconstitutional.

A year after ruling that same-sex couples had the right to marry, the state Supreme Court upheld Prop. 8 last month, ruling 6-1 that voters could amend the California Constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Four days before that ruling, two same-sex couples represented by Theodore Olson and David Boies, attorneys for opposing sides in the 2000 Bush vs. Gore presidential election case, challenged Prop. 8 in federal court.

The suit claimed the measure violated equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution. Gay-rights groups that challenged Prop. 8 in the state court had avoided making any federal constitutional arguments to keep the case away from the conservative U.S. Supreme Court, where a ruling upholding the law would set a nationwide precedent against same-sex marriage.

San Francisco, which also took part in the state Supreme Court case against Prop. 8, has become the first of the state court plaintiffs to file in support of the federal court suit. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and lawyer for same-sex couples in the state court case, said Friday that his organization may take the same step.

The federal suit is "going forward, and we certainly want it to succeed," Minter said.

Marriage Is Gay

Current TV's InfoMania skewers the homophobes with a piece they call "Marriage Is Gay".

The Governator Will Not Defend Prop 8 in Court

(From the Los Angeles Times) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declined to defend the constitutionality of Proposition 8, telling a San Francisco judge that the legality of the anti-gay marriage measure is for the courts to decide.

The governor's decision to remain neutral in a federal challenge to Proposition 8 means no statewide official will be defending the measure in federal court.

Proposition 8 resurrected a ban on same-sex marriage, receiving 52% of the vote in the November election. The California Supreme Court ruled 6-1 last month that the measure did not violate the state constitution.

Supporters of the measure said Wednesday they were disappointed but not surprised by the governor's stance.

Ron Prentice, chairman of the ProtectMarriage.Com Coalition, said the group was "fairly consistently disappointed with the governor's response to the will of the people in the case of marriage."

Same-Sex Marriage Fight Over in NY

(From Gay Marriage Watch) New York State Senate Republicans on Monday replaced Malcolm Smith as Majority Leader after two dissident Democrats switched sides, giving the GOP control, CBS 2 has learned.

The flip of senators Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens gives Republicans a 32-30 edge in the chamber.

Call it a coup, call it a devious plan to change leadership, but at the end of the day Democrats are out of power in the New York State Senate and Republicans were in.

New Hampshire Governor Signs Gay Marriage Bill!

New Hampshire state legislators have passed a revised marriage equality bill, which includes a provision exempting churches. Governor John Lynch has signed the bill into law. New Hampshire becomes the sixth state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.

As the marriage equality momentum builds, pundits begin to discuss just how much of an issue gay marriage will be in future national elections. It seems it's becoming less and less of a wedge issue.

Chris Matthews discusses today's development and it's impact on partisan politics with his guests on MSNBC's "Hard Ball":

Nevada Legislature Over-rides Governor's Veto of Domestic Partnerships

Gay and Lesbian couples now have the right to go to Vegas, get way too drunk and get almost-married by an Elvis impersonator to someone they met the night before. Let's here it for almost-equality!

(From San Jose Mercury News) CARSON CITY, Nev.—The Assembly overrode Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto on a 28-14 vote Sunday and changed state law so that domestic partners, whether gay or straight, have many of the rights and benefits that Nevada offers to married couples.

The Assembly's vote—the bare two-thirds majority needed—followed the state Senate's similar decision, with no votes to spare, a day earlier to make the historic change in state law over the conservative Republican governor's objections.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, termed SB283 "the most important civil rights legislation we have had in all my years here," adding the law change ensures "justice for all, not justice for some."

Leslie said proponents of the new law were asking "that their government give them the ability to choose who they will live with and whom they will love."

SB283 provides that domestic partners have the same rights as married couples in matters such as community property and responsibility for debts. It also prohibits discrimination against domestic partners.

The measure states that no "solemnization ceremony" is required and it's "left to the dictates and conscience of partners entering into a domestic partnership" whether to have such a ceremony.

Garfunkel and Oates: Sex With Ducks

Riki "Garfunkel" Lindhome and Kate "Oates" Micucci sing a pro-gay marriage song in response to a Pat Robertson quote that legalizing gay marriage would lead to legalizing sex with ducks.

Day of Decision: California Court to Announce Ruling on Prop 8 Today

As the LGBT community awaits the California Supreme Court's decision on Pop 8, activists are poised to respond. I felt compelled to repost Friday's plan of action from www.dayofdecision.org

The California Supreme Court will announce its decision on Proposition 8 today, May 26th. If it follows past practice, the court will make its announcement at about 10 AM Pacific Time (1 PM, Eastern / 12 noon Central).

Depending on what the court decides, we will either PROTEST or CELEBRATE.

We will PROTEST if:

-- The court upholds Prop 8, and invalidates the 18,000 same-sex marriage licenses that California already issued;

or,

-- The court upholds Prop 8, but upholds the 18,000 same-sex marriages already performed, which would be a cruel, but pyrrhic victory for equality.

We will CELEBRATE if:

-- The court rejects Proposition 8 and says that same-sex couples are entitled to the marriage rights that heterosexual couples already have.

So call, email, Facebook, Twitter your friends – DAY OF DECISION actions are TUESDAY NIGHT!

Robin Tyler
Andy Thayer

Co-founders, www.DayOfDecision.org

Please plan on participating in the Day of Decision action in your city Tuesday night –

Visit www.dayofdecision.com for a list of events in cities nationwide.

Memos Reveal Conservative Contingencies For Potential Court Nominees

(From The New York Times) WASHINGTON — If President Obama nominates Judge Diane P. Wood to the Supreme Court, conservatives plan to attack her as an “outspoken” supporter of “abortion, including partial-birth abortion.

If he nominates Judge Sonia Sotomayor, they plan to accuse her of being “willing to expand constitutional rights beyond the text of the Constitution.”

And if he nominates Kathleen M. Sullivan, a law professor at Stanford, they plan to denounce her as a “prominent supporter of homosexual marriage.”

Preparing to oppose the confirmation of Mr. Obama’s eventual choice to succeed Justice David H. Souter, who is retiring, conservative groups are working together to stockpile ammunition. Ten memorandums summarizing their research, obtained by The New York Times, provide a window onto how they hope to frame the coming debate. Read the full story here.

Equality By The Numbers

For the second time this week, polling shows Americans are increasingly supporting marriage equality.

(from ABC News)
"Take gay marriage, legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut and now Iowa, with Vermont coming aboard in September. At its low, in 2004, just 32 percent of Americans favored gay marriage, with 62 percent opposed. Now 49 percent support it versus 46 percent opposed -- the first time in ABC/Post polls that supporters have outnumbered opponents.

More than half, moreover -- 53 percent -- say gay marriages held legally in another state should be recognized as legal in their states.

The surprise is that the shift has occurred across ideological groups. While conservatives are least apt to favor gay marriage, they've gone from 10 percent support in 2004 to 19 percent in 2006 and 30 percent now -- overall a 20-point, threefold increase, alongside a 13-point gain among liberals and 14 points among moderates. (Politically, support for gay marriage has risen sharply among Democrats and independents alike, while far more slightly among Republicans.)"

Same-Sex Marriage Begins Today In Iowa

As LGBT Iowans prepare to jump the broom today,
The Rev can't help but wonder,
is America ready for these honeymoon pics?