Posts Tagged ‘marriage’

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out Brenda’s coverage of yesterday’s Supreme Court Hearing on Proposition 8.

Opponents of Equality were greatly outnumbered by those in support of marriage for same-sex couples

As I got close to the Court on my way to the DOMA hearing, I was greeted with big, ugly posters with Hate Fag language. Soon, I did see our people, and they took up all the rest of the street. A large press area was cordoned off. Once inside the Gallery, I saw a bunch of folks I know: all the heads of GLBT organizations seemed to be in the Bar section. Knowing, they paid a lot of money for placeholders. I was so grateful again to Justice Ginsburg for the gift of my tickets. Anyway, Edie Windsor was right in front of me. Soon I noticed Nancy Pelosi, and we had a conversation. She hates DOMA. I don’t know, however, if the Court fails to act, if she can muster the votes necessary to repeal it. Moving along, I was glad to see Ted Olson who argued so brilliantly yesterday against Prop 8, which I told him. Finally – and by this time we’d all been waiting at least an hour inside the Gallery, I saw Valerie Jarrett and had a very strong feeling she’d be rushing back to the White House later to fill in Obama.

At the stroke of 10:00 a.m. in they walked. Chief Justice Roberts, after housekeeping details and the issuance of their ruling against class certification in the Comcast case, called on the Amica, Vicki Jackson, a Harvard Law Professor, whose very first sentence was: “There is no justiciable case before this Court.” And thus began a more than hour-long examination into whether the Court may, by the Rules of Civil Procedure, determine DOMA’s constitutionality since the executive branch of the government agrees with Edie that DOMA does not pass muster. Is there a real case and controversy? On this point, Roberts said he didn’t see why the President didn’t have the courage of his convictions and stop enforcing DOMA, rather than ask the Supreme Court to decide for him.

In sum, I feel Justice Kennedy, who on the merits is no doubt the swing vote in this case, may be tempted to fuss that the case is not properly there. But given what he said later, I don’t think he’s going to abandon the need for our equal protection. Whether or not BLAG has standing, I do feel that 5 of them, at least, will get to the merits on our side. We should note here that we want BLAG to have had standing, BLAG having been appointed & hired by the House when the Administration decided it would enforce but not defend DOMA. If BLAG were to be found not to have standing, chaos reigns. The 2nd Circuit’s decision that DOMA is unconstitutional would stand. Edie would get her money back. What would happen in the other Circuits and for other federal benefits is quite a muddle and requires an entirely different and way too complicated discussion than we can embark on here. In fact, Nancy Pelosi gave me more bad news on this: Not only, she said quietly, did the Chair of the House Administration Committee authorize $1.7 million to pay for BLAG’s lawyers so far, there is another $3.3 million of our tax dollars ready for BLAG’s next legal bill. She, who has a lot of power in the House, seemed appalled at this.

It was 11:13 a.m. (and the Court usually ends hearings at noon) before they turned to the merits. It was already, I noticed later, 55 pages into the transcript by this time! The lawyer for BLAG, Clement, made almost no sense. Justice Breyer interrupted him off the bat, asking why treat gay marriage differently? And Justice Ginsburg observed in a tone that both warmed my heart and brought tears again to my eyes that every aspect of life is affected by DOMA, that the discrimination is pervasive. I am inserting here her words that set the tone for the rest of her remarks, as well as those of Justices Breyer and Sotomayor: Read the rest of this entry »

A number of LGBT and allied groups, grassroots leaders and families are organizing events all over the country including right outside the Supreme Court. Together we will remember how far we have come, and look forward to that moment when every American can marry the person that they love.

Los Angeles: Sunday, March 24th 6:30pm
Los Angeles City Hall (200 N Spring St, Los Angeles)

Inland Empire: Monday, March 25th 7:00pm
George E. Brown Federal Building and US Courthouse (3470 12th St, Riverside, CA)

Sacramento: Monday, March 25th 4pm
Sacramento Federal Courthouse (501 I St, Sacramento, CA)

San Diego: Monday, March 25th 6:30pm
San Diego Federal Court House (880 Front St, San Diego, CA)

San Francisco: Monday, March 25th 6:30pm
Harvey Milk Plaza (Corner of Castro and Market, San Francisco)

San Jose: Monday, March 25th 5:30pm
Billy DeFrank Center (938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA)

Fresno: Tuesday, March 26th 4pm
Fresno Federal Courthouse (2500 Tulare St, Fresno, CA)

Orange County: Tuesday, March 26th 6:30pm
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse (411 W 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA)

Palm Springs: Tuesday, March 26th 6pm
Riverside County Building (Tahquitz and El Cielo, CA)

Santa Barbara: Tuesday, March 27th 5:30pm
Santa Barbara County Courthouse (1100 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA)

Santa Cruz: Wednesday, March 27th 5:30pm
Santa Cruz County Courthouse Steps (701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz, CA)

San Francisco: Thursday, March 28th 5:30pm
San Francisco LGBT Community Center Rainbow Room (1800 Market Street at Octavia, San Francisco, CA)

And be sure to visit www.lighttojustice.org for a complete listing of all events across the nation.

When we asked you to contact President Obama and encourage him to file a friend-of-the-court brief in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Proposition 8 case, we knew that the strength of our movement has always been in the simple, honest yearning for equal respect and dignity. We knew that by asking you to contact the President, and giving a way for you to share your stories, that the President would listen.

And he did. The Justice Department filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging the Supreme Court to strike down the unfair and unjust Proposition 8, which denies the freedom to marry to millions of Californians.

So today we thank President Obama for following his words with actions and giving our love his support from the highest office in the land. And we thank you. Your letters and stories made this possible, and when we look back at this historic moment, you can feel a justified pride in being a part of it.

Last night, San Jose’s City Council took an important step towards invalidating California’s Proposition 8, when they voted 9-1-1 in favor of officially joining San Francisco in an amicus brief to challenge the Prop 8 in the United States Supreme Court. The Council’s support to ban Prop 8 is a move forward in achieving the freedom to marry in California, and in support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The decision was made possible thanks to the hard work, mobilization and community organizing done by the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council, Pride at Work and the LGBT movement in San Jose, and the leadership from Councilmember Ash Kalra, as well as Xavier Campos, Kansen Chu, and Don Rocha to get the issue on the table.

“This is San Jose’s chance to affirmatively stand on the side of equality for all and on the right side of history,” said Councilmember Kalra in a press release.

— Shane Bannon and Linnea Högberg

Whew. We made it. And we won!

Slate talks about the freedom to marry strategy. The short of it? A vindication for the campaign mode of appealing to reluctant voters emotionally. Heart cooks brain, essentially, and we finally made it work for us.

Ta-Nehisi Coates puts it in a hopeful context of a more representative America.

L.A. Times on Maryland and Maine, first to call freedom to marry. (We heard about Washington from a little birdie, maybe you saw it on Facebook.

Sally Ride was the first LGBT woman in space (that we know about); hopefully her successors kept that in mind when they voted.

A handy primer for those still muddled by federal versus state issues in the freedom to marry.

Check out all those LGBT freshmen (and women — freshmembers?) heading to Washington, DC.

The NY Times reminds us that sometimes equality happens by leaps.

Ohio could be up for overturning their odious law banning the freedom to marry.

Of course, Maggie and Brian say that just because they’ve lost, doesn’t mean they’ve lost.

With the defeat of Prop. 32, California rejected an elaborate money-laundering scheme from the Koch Bros. and other opponents of equality.

We got a new executive director this week. We’re excited to have John O’Connor join us officially on December 3.

It’s LGBT history month, and the New Yorker has a great story on Merle Miller coming out in the New York Times, crediting it with helping spawn Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” campaign.

You’re all voting, right? Frying Pan News on why Prop 32 is bad for the LGBT community.

Orange Coast magazine on how small indignities mean progress is still too slow in Orange County.

Buzzfeed on eight families fighting for the freedom to marry.

One of the Wachowski sibs is a trans woman, and she talks about what it means to be visible and trans.

Is Adam Pally TV’s least stereotypical gay guy?

It’s Claude Cahun‘s birthday! Cahun was a gender-bending lesbian surrealist writer and photographer who fought against the Nazis. Her work dealt with fluid sexuality with playful verve and political punch, especially in images like “Don’t Kiss Me, I am in Training,” where she appropriates macho boxing myths for a cartoonish revision, presaging “identity artists” like Cindy Sherman.

Finally, philosopher and author John Corvino makes witty, smart videos about what marriage and other rights mean.

As the late Jim Anchower said, it’s been a while since we rapped atcha. We’ve been busy! We were at Oakland Pride, FYF Fest in LA, the governor’s office and across the state having Breakthrough Conversations.

Oh, and we were watching Assembly Speaker John A. Perez at the DNC (video). Money quote: “Opportunity is why we fight. Across the country there are parents who want nothing more than the opportunity to have a job and the ability to put food on the family table. We fight for them. In too many states, even folks who have jobs wake up every morning worrying that they may lose their job simply because they’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. We fight for them.”

We’re also bracing for September 24, when the U.S. Supreme Court could certify Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Prop. 8 case. If they decline to grant certification, then the freedom to marry is restored in California. For Californians, it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment: If the Supremes don’t grant cert, we’ve won and all the volunteer ministers down at the EQCA offices can start just officiating willy-nilly. But that means that Hollingsworth v. Perry won’t be a binding precedent for the rest of the country — some other brave couple will have to win marriage for everyone. Not to get too much into sports metaphors, but it’s the old dilemma of taking the (sure) extra point kick or going for the two-point conversion.

Maybe we’ve just got football on the brain: Brandon Ayanbedejo of the Baltimore Ravens came out in favor of the freedom to marry, since Maryland’s going to vote on it come November. Which led to Maryland Delagate Emmett C. Burns Jr. to write a very silly letter denouncing Ayanbedejo. To which Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe responded with a very silly, swearing letter back, calling Burns out. For those of you who would prefer a non-swearing, but still very silly letter, Kluwe wrote this version that you can share with gramma. Ayanbadejo “thanks” Burns for bringing the whole thing more attention.

In other traditionally macho pursuits: One year study on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal finds absolutely no negative impact. You can read the full study here (PDF).

Finally, while we’ve been keeping up the pressure on Governor Jerry Brown, we’d like your help too: Do you tweet? Join us — and fabulous leaders like actress Jane Lynch – as we ask California Governor Jerry Brown to protect LGBT youth from dangerous psychological abuse by signing Senate Bill 1172 into law. Tag @JerryBrownGov in your tweet, and don’t forget to use the #SB1172 hash tag.

If you don’t tweet, please go to www.eqca.org/sb-1172 and send a letter in. We can make this happen with your help!

It’s awards season — San Diego’s Equality Awards are coming August 25. We’ll be honoring Rev. Canon Albert Ogle, an Episcopal priest who created the first comprehensive AIDS plan for California, and Superintendent Bill Kowba and the San Diego Unified Public School District for their work implementing the anti-bullying Seth’s Law.

Who else are we honoring? That’s up to YOU! Our Good Neighbor Award’s nominations are still open until August 1, and if your nominee is chosen, you get free tickets to the event.

You can contrast the excellent work Rev. Ogle has done — from supporting the freedom to marry, to his excellent work combining lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality with development aid in emerging nations — to the work of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, recently of the San Francisco Archdiocese. He’s often credited as the “father of Prop. 8,” an ugly baby to be sure, and is the one who approached the so-called National Organization for Marriage about taking away the freedom to marry here in California. He’s further to the right than most Catholics — the laity support the freedom to marry by over 50 percent — and has characterized the love and commitment of LGBT Californians as a “plot by ‘the evil one’ to destroy morality in the modern world.” Eeesh.

Speaking of eesh, that whole Chik-Fil-A thing? Teens in Laguna are voicing their discontent, and Chik-Fil-A is even catching flak behind the Orange Curtain. Diane Brady for Bloomberg points out that Marriott hotels could teach Chik-Fil-A plenty about being social conservatives without being exclusionary.  Read the rest of this entry »

The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) announced yesterday it would hold an investigation into GOP Presidential candidate Fred Karger’s accusation that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) did not report more than $340,000 in donations for their Yes on 8 campaign in 2008. NOM is one of the nation’s largest anti-LGBT groups, with ties to various anti-marriage initiatives across the country.

California is joining the state of Maine in its investigation of the allegation that NOM did not disclose various donations from various organizations. These donations include $10,000 from Mitt Romney’s Alabama PAC, $150,000 from Michael Casey of Jamestown, RI, $100,000 from Sean Fiedler of New York, NY and $25,000 dollars from Craig Cardon of Mesa, Arizona, a General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not the first time Karger has called out inconsistent financial data with groups involved in the Yes on 8 campaign. Two years ago, Karger was involved in the prosecution of the Mormon church on 13 counts of election fraud that led to a $5,500 fine.

While the FPPC has not announced any official statement beyond the opening of the investigation, it’s long past time for an investigation to shed light on this issues and get to the truth about these contributions during the 2008 election. While its possible that there was no misconduct, the timing of the contributions beg the question: if the contributions weren’t connected to Prop 8, why were they made and why then? It’s enough to raise significant suspicion and we’re hopeful that this investigation will provide visibility into NOM’s activities and hold NOM accountable if the work connected to certain contributions has been hidden from view.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a petition from anti-equality groups to rehear the decision that struck down Prop 8.

In order to rehear, the majority active duty judges on the court would have had to vote for an en banc hearing, but they apparently realized that they got it right the first time.

“Two federal courts in this case have affirmed what we know to be true ― that Proposition 8 seriously infringes on the guarantee of equal protection and serves no legitimate state interest,” said Equality California board member David Codell, who provides pro bono legal representation to Equality California on marriage-related issues. “We agree with the majority of the judges of the Ninth Circuit that there was no need to rehear this case because the decision to strike down Proposition 8 rested on solid constitutional principles.”

“Americans of all backgrounds, including the President of the United States, are coming to understand that same-sex couples want the freedom to marry for the same reason as other loving, committed couples―to make a lifetime commitment in front of friends and family and have the security of marriage that allows couples and families to care for one another,” said Equality California Board President Clarissa Filgioun. “Through our movement’s work in the court of public opinion and our courts of law, we are, with each passing milestone, one step closer to putting and end to Proposition 8 for good.”

Prop 8 supporters now have 90 days to decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or whether to can the whole thing and embrace equality. Should they appeal and the Supreme Court accept the case, a decision is likely by the middle of 2013.

More coverage:

LA Times: Proposition 8 ruling opens door to Supreme Court test.

Mercury News: California’s Prop 8 case headed to U.S. Supreme Court.

MSNBC: Interview with original Prop 8 plaintiffs, Sandy Steir and Kris Perry, about Supreme Court possibility.

NPR: California’s Prop 8 Same-Sex Marriage Ban Looks Headed To Supreme Court.