Responding to a report today in The Globe and Mail that "a [Canadian] Department of Justice lawyer says [a same-sex couple's] marriage is not legal in Canada since they could not have lawfully wed in Florida or England, where the two partners reside," concern quickly spread that Americans who married in Canada and have returned to the United States could have the validity of their marriages challenged. Several LGBT legal organizations issued a statement this afternoon, however, assuring people that "No one's marriage has been invalidated or is likely to be invalidated."
Passage of the law in New York marked the first time such a measure has been approved in a state where Republicans control either legislative chamber. That step “provided a powerful example of the momentum and growing and broadening support across the political spectrum,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a New York-based national advocacy organization which lobbied Albany lawmakers and is working on the issue in Maine.
If Democratic legislators get their way, 2012 may be the year gay marriage becomes legal across the Hudson. New Jersey elected officials promised yesterday they will introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage as the first new measure of the new year.
All nine members of the Democratic congressional delegation from New Jersey have signed a letter urging their colleagues in the state legislature to support the marriage equality bill being introduced this week.
This morning, all of New Jersey's Democratic members of the U.S. Congress -- including Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez -- urged their state legislative colleagues to pass marriage equality, where the Star-Ledger reports a marriage equality bill is expected to be introduced this week.
The House and Senate bills (respectively numbered A. 1 and S. 1) are expected to be taken up early this year. According to same-sex marriage advocacy organization, Freedom to Marry, “the numbering of the bills reflects the importance which the legislative leaders are giving to the effort.”
In fewer than two weeks, the New Hampshire primary season will have come to a close, and the presidential candidates will have fled the state like migrating birds. But many eyes around the country will remain focused on the Granite State as legislators prepare to take up one of the most controversial votes in recent history.
In a Sunday op-ed, New Jersey senator Robert Menendez announced his support for a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
The National Organization for Marriage is primarily a shell group that exists to funnel funding from secret anti-gay donors,” said Evan Wolfson, the founder and president of Freedom to Marry, a national campaign started in 2003 whose mission is to legalize marriage for gay and lesbian couples nationwide. “[NOM] undermines and tries to overturn campaign finance and disclosure laws in states all over the country. They have proven themselves to be untrustworthy.”
Now is the time for President Obama to complete his evolution on the subject of same-sex marriage.
A Michigan Mayor is in hot water for comments that she made on her Facebook page. The post has been deleted but some say that her words can’t be so easily erased. Evan Wolfson, executive director of “Freedom To Marry,” told CBS 2′s Ann Mercogliano, “It’s very sad that a public official would refer to a group of loving and committed couples as ‘queers.’”
The Courage Campaign, Freedom to Marry and other LGBT groups have launched a campaign to convince Lieberman and Collins to co-sponsor DOMA repeal, although they haven’t signed on in support.
The Courage Campaign, Freedom to Marry and other LGBT groups have launched a campaign to convince Lieberman and Collins to co-sponsor DOMA repeal, although they haven’t signed on in support.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan became the first sitting cabinet secretary to announce support for marriage equality, saying on Nov. 15 that he ''absolutely'' supports marriage equality in an exclusive interview with Metro Weekly.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday (November 10) voted to recommend passage of a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
During a Thursday meeting that embodied Washingtons ideological rift over marriage rights for same-sex couples, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to move forward a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson said in a statement, ''The voters rebuffed the anti-gay attacks that sought to make undoing the freedom to marry a critical factor in the race, and instead elected a candidate who supports the freedom to marry for all Iowa families. [LGBT advocacy organization] One Iowa worked hard to make sure that marriage remains secure in Iowa and to elect a legislator who will focus on the real challenges confronting the state.''
A Democratic candidate won a special election on Tuesday for a seat in the Iowa State Senate a victory that will preserve marriage rights in the state.