Idaho
Idaho, located in the U.S. Northwest and known as the Gem State, is home to over 2,000 same-sex couples. In 2006, Idaho voters approved an anti-marriage discriminatory constitutional amendment. State advocacy groups continue to work towards repealing marriage discrimination and gaining the freedom to marry for the citizens of Idaho.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Your Family, Friends, & Neighbors
Your Family, Friends, and Neighbors is a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people through community organizing, advocacy and leadership strategies that empower LGBT communities and their allies who work for progressive social change.
American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho
The ACLU of Idaho works to defend liberty throughout Idaho . They are involved in litigation and advocacy on behalf of individuals, and lobby on scores of bills in the state legislature and local councils. In addition, the ACLU is active in many public education and community organizing projects.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN IDAHO:
Your Community-Idaho
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and relationship recognition laws in each state.
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NEWS:
Gay Couple Loses Benefits With Move
A gay couple in a civil union from New Jersey moved to Idaho and found they lost many of the protections to which they had grown accustomed. The ACLU is helping them fight for health insurance.
OPINION: For love or country?
Newsweek
February 5, 2007
An Idaho mother writes about her son, "In a matter of years Cameron will be gone. He is moving to a country where he will have the same civil rights that heterosexual couples enjoy, a country that will benefit from his immense talent and skill, a country that does want him no matter whom he wants to marry. We are close, and we will find a way to stay close, but it will not be the same easy back and forth we have now. Distance and borders will make it harder. I will miss him terribly, but it is not just me who will suffer. We will all be the poorer for his moving and the reasons that drove him."
ID businesses join marriage equality movement
Boise Weekly
October 4, 2006
"We could not stand idly by without taking a stand on this amendment," said Michael Byron, president of the Idaho Inclusiveness Coalition, in a prepared statement concerning the Idaho initiative to write marriage discrimination into the state constitution. "As an organization, we are charged with developing and implementing strategies for creating inclusive communities in Idaho. And as businesspeople, we are concerned about the effect passage of HJR2 would likely have on the business climate of our state. Opposing this amendment is the only logical choice for us."
Idaho marriage amendment fails
365Gay.com
February 2, 2005
Eight Republican senators joined with six Democrats striking down the proposed anti-gay amendment to the State's constitution. This is the second consecutive year such a proposal has been defeated.
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Why Marriage Matters America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
By Evan Wolfson
Read reviews! Purchase the book or receive a signed copy as a thank you for your donation!
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
