A Note from Evan Wolfson
With wind in our sails from the unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court ruling and November’s election results, which showed that standing up for gay people and the freedom to marry did not hurt politicians, we head into what should be a transformative 2007 with renewed momentum.
Heroic efforts are underway in New Jersey as our partners at Garden State Equality — joined by a united front of groups such as Lambda Legal, the Task Force, HRC, the ACLU and many others — fight to secure full and equal marriage instead of a separate, lesser, or substitute legal status. As the legislature moves now to implement the constitution's command of equality, couples and their kids are mounting an intense campaign to keep the governor and legislators from stampeding to civil union, rather than doing the right (and simple) thing and ending the exclusion from marriage.
In Maryland on Monday ACLU lawyer Ken Choe did a wonderful job arguing before the State Supreme Court in the case of Conaway v. Deane. Representing committed couples seeking to marry, Ken tackled head-on one of the errors made by the courts in NY and WA earlier this year, which talked about the meaning of marriage to non-gay people without addressing marriage's meaning for gay people, or explaining how keeping gay people out helped promote the value of marriage for anyone. "It is not enough that there is a reason for including the included class," said Ken. "There must also be a reason for excluding the excluded class." We hope for a favorable ruling for marriage equality from this court and others in 2007.
With historic legislative, court, and public education battles ahead in California, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, and others still ramping up in the new national climate, and with marriage work possible in all fifty states as part of the continuing national dialogue, 2007 promises to be momentous. A clear majority of Americans have come to understand that our families deserve and need recognition and protection; they continue to learn and wrestle with why marriage matters as part of our nation's promise of equality, liberty, and fairness. South Africa got there, and as the holidays approach, same-sex couples' marriages are now respected in Israel, the Holy Land. If they can get to the promised land, so can we.
Follow developments in the movement for marriage equality on our website, and in future issues of Freedom to Marry's bi-monthly E-Update.
Reports from the Front
Freedom to Marry Voice of Equality Marina Gatto in All Families Matter Ad in New York Times
Freedom to Marry Voice of Equality Marina Gatto's family is one of three pictured in a full-page ad that ran 11/13/06 in The New York Times special
section on philanthropy.
View the ad here.
The ad states: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and families live everywhere and deserve basic human rights. Like others, they seek job security, freedom from harassment and violence, non-discrimination in housing and government services, protections for their families, and the freedom to marry. LGBT families want the same ability to contribute to, and participate in, all that our society has to offer. Despite these families' contributions and needs, only one-tenth of one percent of all foundation dollars comes to their aid. We thank those who are meeting the challenge to end discrimination and promote progress. And we invite all members of the nonprofit and philanthropic community to learn more and do more to meet the real needs of all families.
To find out more, and how you can get involved, email AllFamiliesMatter@lgbtfunders.org or check out their website HERE.
Our Voices of Equality are important allies in our fight to win the freedom to marry. Read more about them speaking out against discrimination in marriage in the news HERE.
Sustaining and Advancing the Movement for Marriage Equality
Renewing efforts to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage in California, Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, introduced on December 4 the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. The bill, sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), would allow same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license from their county clerk.
"All loving, committed couples deserve not only the legal protections that marriage provides, but also the dignity that marriage affords," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "The time has come to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. This legislation validates loving relationships and strengthens California families by honoring the commitments of every couple under law."
Read more HERE.
The NJ Fight to Win Marriage, Not Lesser Status, Has Extra Significance to Two Freedom to Marry Staffers
Senior Web Producer Heather Jensen and her partner Amy Quinn are two of the thousands of gay and lesbian New Jerseyans eagerly anticipating the legislature's response to the Court's decision that may find that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry in the state.
"We talk about getting married sometimes," she says of her relationship with her partner of 3 1/2 years. "Early in our relationship our town briefly issued marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. At the time we were excited about the prospect but nervous about the actuality. Just because you can doesn't mean you should, you know? Of course, 2 1/2 years later we sometimes think 'Aw, we should've done it then!' But when marriage equality comes to New Jersey, we'll get hitched. We don't really want to domestic partnershipicize. We want the real thing."
Freedom to Marry Deputy Director Charles Ignacio and his partner John Catania have been together for almost 13 years. They are a very performing/visual arts-oriented family. The couple share a background in television and documentary production, so they’re most likely found creating something in their spare time, whether it’s their latest documentary, "The Lady in Question is Charles Busch" (now on DVD), or helping to start the first LGBT film festival in Jersey City, Chillfest, now in its second year.
Many committed same-sex couples share the same responsibilities as married couples. However, without the freedom to marry, they do not receive the same recognition or protections for their families as married couples. Says Charles, "If I had come to this country like my parents who came to the U.S. on temporary student visas, and then met John and continued in a long-term committed relationship like we are in now, I would still be forced to return to the Philippines once my visa expired because we would be denied the right to obtain a marriage license, despite the fact that we had dedicated our lives together. When my parents came to this country, interracial marriage was still illegal in most states. Here in New Jersey we’re now working to remove the barriers to marriage that stand between me, a second-generation Filipino-American, and my partner."
He continues, "New Jersey’s decision to give equal rights and responsibilities to my relationship with John makes clear that the love we share with each other is no less than that of non-gay couples. If the New Jersey legislature votes to call those rights marriage, then we would no longer be second class citizens. John and I can rest easier now that the last barriers to marriage are being removed so that we can not only love and care for ourselves into the future, but we will be treated like any other married couple under the law here in New Jersey."
The Latest News
For the latest news, opinions, and polls, including these articles, check out our website.
EDITORIAL: VA Court of Appeals does the right
thing for common sense and custody laws
The Washington Post
November 30, 2006
For more than two years, Janet Miller-Jenkins has been blocked from seeing her 4-year-old daughter because of a nasty custody dispute with her ex-spouse,
who has been defying a court order to allow regular visits. This week, the Virginia Court of Appeals issued an opinion that should be utterly unremarkable:
It held that under federal law, Virginia courts must honor the custody orders of their sister courts in Vermont, where Ms. Miller-Jenkins and her ex were
joined and where they asked a court to dissolve their union.
Gay millionaires and allies poured unprecedented sums into
the 2006 election &mdash and it worked
Salon.com
November 29, 2006
Rep. Sue Kelly, N.Y.-19 , voted to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment. "When she made that vote," explained Adam Rose, who wrote a $500,000 check to
Majority Action for the express purpose of unseating Sue Kelly in the November election, "I took a look at the political environment, and I said there's
nothing I can do about who's president. There's nothing I can do about the fact that Republicans control both houses [of Congress]. However, here is one
thing I can have an impact on." Rose's half-million meant that the once-safe incumbent was toppled in a race decided by fewer than 5,000 votes.
Still standing up for rights,
respect
Baltimore Sun
November 28, 2006
Four decades after risking his life in a civil rights struggle for others, Charles Blackburn, 73, says it is time to fight for himself. Along with his
partner of 28 years, Glen Dehn, he is a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to expand marriage to gay and lesbian couples in Maryland.
