Marriage equality update

Compiled from AP dispatches

Arkansas

AG certifies wording of Ark. gay marriage proposal 
Jeannie Nuss, Associated Press

Little Rock, Ark. (AP) — A proposal to repeal Arkansas' constitutional ban on gay marriage is one step closer to going before voters next year after the state's top lawyer approved a request Thursday to certify the measure's popular name and ballot title.

The proposal from Arkansans for Equality would repeal a constitutional amendment voters approved in 2004 that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

However, the proposal would not legalize gay marriage. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has previously pointed out that state law also bars gay marriage and would still be in place if the proposal to repeal the same-sex marriage ban was approved.

Proposals must be certified by McDaniel's office before groups can begin gathering signatures needed to win a spot on the ballot.

Judd Mann, co-chair of Arkansans for Equality, said the group will need to raise money to pay for training for canvassers.

"Fundraising is our first effort in having to get about 75,000 signatures," Mann said. "So we have a long, hard road ahead in front of us, but we are so excited."

McDaniel previously rejected two other proposals from Arkansans for Equality, Mann said. McDaniel told the group in July that the ballot measure's wording could mislead voters into believing it would automatically legalize same-sex unions.

But on Thursday, McDaniel said the proposal's popular name — Repeal of the Arkansas Marriage Amendment — was sufficient. He also tweaked the group's ballot title and certified a revised version.

In a separate opinion on Thursday, McDaniel rejected the wording of another gay marriage proposal — The Arkansas Marriage Equality Amendment — that seeks to legally recognize marriage in Arkansas as a union of two people regardless of sex. McDaniel cited what he called "deficiencies" in the ballot title and text of a proposal from Jack Weir III and Christopher Jacks.

Arkansas' gay marriage ban was approved by 75 percent of voters in 2004. Same-sex couples have filed lawsuits this year in federal and state court challenging the ban.

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New Mexico

NM Attorney General King disagrees with governor on same-sex marriage 

Santa Fe, N.M. (AP) — Democratic Attorney General Gary King is taking issue with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's suggestion that voters should decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage in New Mexico.

King, who's running for governor against Martinez next year, said Friday the best approach is for the state Supreme Court to resolve whether gay marriage is legal in the state. He said it's a civil right issue.

The high court has a hearing scheduled next month to consider whether a district court judge in Albuquerque correctly ruled that it's unconstitutional to deny marriagelicenses to same-sex couples.

Martinez has said she believes marriage should be between a man and woman, but that voters should make the decision on gay marriage through a constitutional amendment that would appear on the ballot.

 

Lawmakers oppose gay marriage, file NM court brief 
Barry Massey, Associated Press

Santa Fe, N.M. (AP) — Republican legislators are urging New Mexico's highest court to declare that state law prohibits same-sex marriage.

Nearly two dozen current and former GOP lawmakers made the legal pitch to the state Supreme Court in a "friend-of-the-court" brief filed in advance of a hearing later this month in a case that could resolve whether gay marriage is legal in New Mexico.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and other supporters of gay marriage also submitted written arguments Monday, providing a preview of the legal debate that will play out in front of the five-member court at its Oct. 23 hearing.

At issue for the high court is an Albuquerque judge's ruling last month that it's unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

"New Mexico's guarantee of equal protection to its citizens demands that same sex couples be permitted to enjoy the benefits of marriage in the same way and to the same extent as other New Mexico citizens," Attorney General Gary King said in arguments submitted on behalf of the judge.

New Mexico law doesn't explicitly authorize or prohibit gay marriage. However, the GOP lawmakers said the law bans same-sex marriage because state statutes contain a marriage license application with sections for male and female applications and there are other provisions in law that refer to "husband" and "wife.

The Republican lawmakers, represented by a conservative Christian law group called the Alliance Defending Freedom, said anti-discrimination and equal protection guarantees in the state constitution do not provide a legal right to marriage for same-sex couples.

The lawmakers said that "the judiciary should exercise caution when asked to divine fundamental and important constitutional rights not expressly provided in the Constitution's text."

The gay marriage issue has moved to the political front burner in New Mexico since August when Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins decided independently to allow marriage licenses for same-sex couples. At least seven other county clerks have followed, some because of rulings in lawsuits brought by same-sex couples.

The gay marriage issue made its way to the Supreme Court after the state's 33 counties and county clerks statewide asked the five justices to clarify whether local officials are required to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

County clerks historically have relied on the marriage license application in state law in denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Ellins, in written arguments to the Supreme Court, pointed out that the state's Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination by businesses and others on the basis of sexual orientation.

"This court now has the opportunity to establish marital equality in New Mexico, and lay a cornerstone of its legacy in the history of redressing discrimination based on sexual orientation," a lawyer for Ellins wrote.

Sixteen University of New Mexico law professors also urged the court to declare same-sex marriage legal.

"The limitation imposed on same-sex couples seeking to exercise their right to marry discriminates against members of a group with a history of marginalization and exclusion," the law professors said.

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New Jersey

Gay marriage override vote being planned in NJ 
Angela Delli Santi, Associated Press

Trenton, N.J. (AP) — For same-sex couples waiting to marry, the Legislature's most important vote will come after the November election.

The lame-duck session is when Democratic leaders have promised to try to override Gov. Chris Christie's marriage equality veto.

National advocacy groups like the American Unity Fund that have had success in states like Minnesota, where the legislature approved same-sex marriage this year, are already working to convince targeted legislators to vote yes.

A state campaign entitled New Jersey United for Marriage is now active, for the purpose of winning marriage equality before the legislative session ends in January, said the group's spokesman Chris Donnelly.

Conservative groups such as the National Organization for Marriage are honing their own appeal to keep New Jersey from joining 13 other states where gay and lesbian couples are allowed to wed.

The veto override requires 27 votes in the Senate and 54 in the Assembly. That's three additional votes in the Senate and 12 in the Assembly than when it passed last year.

Republican leaders say legislators in their party will be free to vote how they want, without pressure from the governor.

Two Republicans in the Assembly who did not vote on the bill last year, Declan O'Scanlon of Red Bank and Holly Schepisi of Westwood, say they will vote to override Christie's veto. Schepisi said she was swayed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.

"The narrative that the governor strong-arms Republicans in the Legislature is false," O'Scanlon said after making his choice known last week. "I think you'll see some other folks vote for it, but I don't know exactly how many at this point. We're some time away from that vote actually happening."

Christie, a Catholic and potential contender for the 2016 presidential nomination, opposes same-sex marriage. But he supports the state's civil union law, which givesgay and lesbian couples the benefits of marriage without the title.

He called for the question to be put to voters in a ballot referendum, but most Democrats rejected the idea. In their view, a civil rights issue such as gay marriage does not belong on the ballot.

Several same-sex couples are pursuing a parallel track in court.

Lawyers for gay couples and New Jersey's government laid out their cases to a judge in August on whether she should order the state to legalize same-sex marriage in light of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter.

Six couples and several of their children sued in 2011, saying civil unions fall short ofmarriage. That case is months from going to trial.

In June, the couples asked the court to make a judgment after the Supreme Court ruling invalidated key parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, which had banned the federal government from recognizing gay marriage.

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Indiana

Ind. lobbying group seeks gay marriage stances 

Indianapolis (AP) — A prominent conservative lobbying group is pushing for Indiana lawmakers to disclose what side they'll take in next year's expected vote on whether to put a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution.

Eric Miller, founder and executive director of Indianapolis-based Advance America, said in a letter to legislators that he will compile the responses and "make them available to citizens around the state."

The Advance America survey's deadline is Thursday — a day after the state Senate's majority Republicans have scheduled a private caucus, The Indianapolis Star reported (http://indy.st/1dDrGAt ).

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said the GOP senators will discuss the amendment and other topics, but that the meeting "has nothing to do with Eric Miller" or his lobbying organization.

Miller is among the highest-profile lobbyists in the Statehouse and also unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Republican nomination for governor.

Advance America, which claims 45,000 families, 3,700 churches and 1,500 businesses as supporters, has been among the leading backers of the gay marriage ban proposal. Miller did not respond to the Star's calls seeking comment, nor did he immediately return a phone message Monday from The Associated Press.

State law currently prohibits gay marriage, and the General Assembly overwhelmingly supported the proposed constitutional amendment in 2011. If legislators approve it again next year, it would go before voters in November 2014.

An organization named Freedom Indiana has formed to campaign against the amendment and is receiving money and public support from Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. and Columbus-based Cummins Inc.

Surveys like Miller's are a way for interest groups to apply pressure to lawmakers, said Andrew Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

"The implied threat is if you're in a district where your position is wrong, watch out, because your position may come back to haunt you," Downs said.

Some lawmakers are keeping an eye on changing public attitudes toward same-sex couples.

"I think the times have changed, as have people's attitudes toward it," said Sen. Thomas Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, who voted for the amendment in 2011. While believing marriage should be between a man and a woman, Wyss said he is "uncomfortable" with a provision that also would ban civil unions.

Wyss, a 28-year Senate veteran, is not running for re-election next year and said his Advance America poll "went into the trash" like most surveys he receives.

Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, voted in favor of the ban amendment in 2011, but said he believes lawmakers need to thoroughly discuss its impact again.

"The purpose of the caucus is to find out how we want to handle the issue — what is doable, what is not doable," Kenley said.

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Illinois

Dem leader urges Ill. House to OK gay marriage 

Chicago (AP) — The second-ranking Democrat in the Illinois House has become the latest elected official urging lawmakers to support same-sex marriage as a matter of equality and as a boost for the state's economy.

Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie sent a letter to all House members earlier this month saying it's time to approve legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. The letter follows a push in early September by Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak to lure Illinois' gay couples to wed in Minnesota, which legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year. Attempts to approve legislation have stalled in Illinois; A measure passed the state's Senate but the House sponsor didn't call a vote because he said he didn't have the votes.

"Illinois has been missing out on this economic opportunity long before Minneapolis' mayor unleashed his advertising campaign in our state," Currie wrote in the letter released Saturday.

Currie said the wedding industry is big business and Illinois is losing millions to states like Minnesota that allow same-sex marriage. She said it's also about ensuring everyone has the right to demonstrate their love.

Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel support same-sex marriage. Advocates have intensified efforts and are pushing for a vote next month, when lawmakers gather in Springfield.

"For whichever reason moves you, it's time we stop playing second fiddle to our neighbors and do what is best for our state ..." she wrote.

Opponents of the measure — largely religious groups and influential Chicago churches — have vowed to fight the measure, saying marriage should remain between a man and a woman.

Illinois allowed civil unions in 2011.

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Texas

Texas' top Republican candidates oppose gay rights 
Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press

A\ustin, Texas (AP) — As legal questions surrounding gay rights become major issues in Texas, Republicans running for the top statewide offices unanimously oppose expanding protections based on sexual orientation.

Barring any major election upsets next year by Democrats, the Republicans vying for statewide office are unlikely to soften those stances if elected.

An Associated Press survey shows that GOP candidates support the state's gay marriage ban and most say local ordinances that prohibit gay discrimination violate other people's freedom of religion. Some candidates also say gays, lesbians and the transgendered don't face significant discrimination.

"To my knowledge, employers generally do not ask about a person's sexual orientation. The state of Texas certainly does not," said Attorney General Greg Abbott, an early favorite to become Texas' next governor. But he added that "both the U.S. and Texas Constitutions protect faith-based organizations from being coerced into employing persons in a way that would require them to violate their faith."

The AP sent six questions on gay rights to the Republican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. No Democrats have announced their candidacy for those posts, but the Texas Democratic Party endorses full civil rights and protections for gays, including the right to marry.

The responses come as the gay rights debate in Texas has heated up the last few weeks. The Texas National Guard recently refused a Pentagon directive to process applications for military benefits for same-sex couples, citing the state law that does not recognize gay marriage. The state's GOP heavyweights also waged a fervent yet unsuccessful effort to block San Antonio from becoming the latest Texas city to pass a discrimination ordinance protecting gays.

Abbott was the only candidate who answered all of AP's questions, while others submitted statements addressing some of the issues. Many refused to discuss whether to protect homosexuals from discrimination — such as denying them employment or services at a business. Others said that protecting gays from discrimination would infringe on the freedoms of those whose religions condemn homosexuals.

"Sadly, in a culture infected with political correctness, people of faith are targeted for defending their beliefs with no consideration of their First Amendment rights," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is running for re-election. "I will continue to stand with my fellow Texans in defending our God-given, constitutionally protected freedoms."

It's an issue that gay rights advocates have lobbied lawmakers to address on a statewide level. Many cities such as Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin have such local ordinances.

"A statewide statute is necessary because people are being discriminated against based on their actual, or even their perceived, sexual orientation or gender identity," said Chuck Smith, executive director of the gay rights group Equality Texas. "Everyone has a sexual orientation, that's not a lifestyle. This is an implication that being gay is a choice, which I think is inaccurate."

Barry Smitherman, a candidate for attorney general, refused to answer any of AP's questions. His opponent, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, issued only a single sentence through his spokesman Chris Elam: "Commissioner Patterson strongly believes that marriage is between one man and one woman."

Here are additional candidate responses:

Do you believe that people have a right to treat homosexuals differently than heterosexuals in public spaces?

— Sen. Ken Paxton of McKinney, candidate for attorney general: "I do not believe in elevating sexual 'rights' to be superior to religious freedom and freedom of conscience. Such rights are enumerated nowhere in the Texas or U.S. Constitution, unlike religious freedom ... the very reason many pilgrims came to this country and eventually founded our great nation. People have the freedom to live their life how they wish and to arrange for contractual relationships as they prefer."

— Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston, candidate for lieutenant governor: "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman as do the people of Texas, who have spoken loud and clear on this issue. Every American should be treated equally, but no one should be given special treatment under the law because of their sexual preference."

Do you support equal civil rights for lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens?

— Tom Pauken, candidate for governor: "Current statutes adequately address the issue of equality before the law and I would oppose laws that provide preferential treatments based on lifestyle choices."

— Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, candidate for attorney general: "If I am entrusted by the voters of Texas to serve as their next Attorney General, I will faithfully and vigorously defend the constitutional rights of all Texans, and uphold the laws as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary."

Do you believe that homosexuality is a disorder that requires treatment?

— Abbott: "I am not a doctor, a scientist or God. I cannot render judgment on a person's sexuality. I can, however, refer you to the American Psychological Association on the matter."

Do you believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry or have a civil union?

— Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, candidate for lieutenant governor: "As the author of the constitutional amendment which defines marriage as between one man and one woman, my position on same sex marriage is clear. I support our Texas law and constitution, which prohibit the state recognition of same sex marriage as well as the conferring or correlating benefits from governmental entities."

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