On Tuesday, Feb. 7, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that Proposition 8, the anti-gay measure that stripped gay and lesbian couples in California of the freedom to marry, is unconstitutional. Yesterday, Feb. 8, the Washington legislature passed a marriage bill that will go to the governor's desk for her signature. And today, we look at the work ahead to ensure that all loving and committed couples are able to share in the meaning and protections of marriage.
There's no denying that marriage is on the march forward. Across the nation, from New Jersey to Washington State, the freedom to marry is being discussed at dinner tables and in state legislatures. In November, we'll be fighting for marriage at the ballot in Maine and trying to fend off an anti-marriage constitutional amendment in Minnesota. And here in the nation's capital, the conversation continues to dominate the 2012 political narrative.
Gay rights advocates in New Jersey have been pushing for a decade to get state courts or lawmakers to recognize same-sex marriage. But last week, they demurred when Gov. Christie called for a public vote to settle the topic.
With New York's legalization of same-sex marriage effectively doubling the number of Americans living in states where gays can marry, gay advocates like to say 2011 was a big year. It's hard to imagine another doubling this year, but proponents are still hoping to build on last year's success.
Evan Wolfson discusses the effort to legalize the freedom to marry in Washington state.
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.
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."
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.
President Obama has long relied on his oratorical gifts to ease him through tricky political situations. But on the emotionally charged issue of gay rights, Mr. Obama has been content recently to let his lieutenants do the talking. And they have said some striking things.