Marriage equality update
Partly driven by the Supreme Court hearings on DOMA and Prop 8 on Tuesday and Wednesday, activity in support of marriage equality was bubbling up across the country. On the Sunday news shows the topic was discussed on ‘Meet the Press’ featuring David Boies, one of the lawyers taking the cases to the Court, and on “Face the Nation” where Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo, an advocate of same-sex marriage appeared.
In New York City today, Actor Titus Burgess, state Sen. Thomas K. Duane, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assemblyman Daniel J. O'Donnell and over 500 demonstrators participate in a march and rally calling for nationwide civil recognition of gay marriage.
Hawaii
The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor is hearing a resolution that suggests creating a task force to study the potential economic and social effects of legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii.
Hawaii allows civil unions but attempts to legalize same-sex marriage failed in the state Legislature earlier this session.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Clayton Hee sponsored the resolution, which says "there is substantial evidence that enacting marriage equality would have a significant economic impact on Hawaii."
Washington, D.C. – Line begins at high court for gay marriage cases
WASHINGTON (AP) — A line has begun forming at the Supreme Court for people who want to attend next week's arguments in two gay marriage cases.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg confirmed by email that people began lining up at some point Thursday.
The justices will hear arguments Tuesday on California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage and on Wednesday on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
Lines frequently form in advance for the free tickets to high-profile arguments, but five days before a case is particularly early. For last year's three days of arguments over the Affordable Care Act, the line began about three days early.
Rhode Island – the only New England state that doesn’t have marriage equality
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island senators heard testimony all night at the Statehouse on a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.
The pivotal Senate Judiciary Committee hearing adjourned just before 5 a.m. Friday. About 650 people had signed up to speak, including Gov. Lincoln Chafee, a supporter of gay marriage.
The legislation has passed in the House, but its fate on the Senate side is unclear. The committee has not scheduled a vote, and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed has been a notable opponent.
Opponents say a same-sex marriage law would force their religions to recognize something that violates their beliefs. Some at least want the question to be put to a popular vote.
Colorado – Civil unions signed into law
DENVER (AP) — Civil unions for gay couples got the governor's signature in Colorado on Thursday, punctuating a dramatic turnaround in a state where voters banned same-sex marriage in 2006 and restricted protections for gays two decades ago.
Cheers erupted as Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill during a ceremony at the History Colorado Center near the state Capitol. Hundreds looked on, with many chanting "Equal! Equal!"
Some wiped away tears and others hugged during the signing ceremony.
"There is no excuse that people shouldn't have all the same rights," Hickenlooper told the crowd, which included dozens of gay couples and others watching from floors above.
The law takes effect May 1.
"It means I can change my name finally," said 21-year-old Amber Fuentes of Lakewood, who plans to have a civil union with Yolanda Martinez, 34.
"It's not marriage, but it still gives us a lot of the rights," Martinez said.
Colorado will join eight states that have civil unions or similar laws. Nine states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage.
The signing in Colorado comes less than a year after the proposal was blocked in the House by Republicans.
"It's really meaningful. To have the recognition of your love and relationship just like any other relationship by the state is an important both legal and symbolic thing," said Democratic House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, a sponsor of the bill and the first gay lawmaker to hold the title of speaker in Colorado.
Supporters of civil unions say the passage in Colorado also is telling because in 1992, voters approved a ban on municipal antidiscrimination laws to protect gays. Four years later, the U.S. Supreme Court said the law, known as Amendment 2, was unconstitutional — but not before some branded Colorado a "hate state."
Ferrandino said the shift "shows how much through hard work and through a very thoughtful approach you can change public opinion."
Civil unions grant gay couples rights similar to marriage, including enhanced inheritance and parental rights. People in civil unions also would have the ability to make medical decisions for their partners.
Most Republicans opposed the bill, saying they would've liked to see religious exemptions to provide legal protections for those opposed to civil unions. Churches are shielded under the new law, but Democrats rejected protections for businesses and adoption agencies, arguing the Republican suggestions were too broad and could provide legal cover to discriminate.
In May, Democrats said they had enough votes to pass the bill. But Republicans who controlled the House by one vote prevented debate on the measure.
Democrats took control of the House in November and retained the Senate.
Some Republicans insist the bill is too similar to marriage, and therefore violates the will of voters in 2006. Because of that constitutional amendment, civil unions are the only option for gay couples in Colorado for now. That could change with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage bans in the coming months.
"Even though it was specifically told to us that it wasn't about marriage, I think both sides know that it is what it is about," said Republican Rep. Lori Saine, speaking against the bill before a final vote last week.
Democratic Sen. Pat Steadman, also a gay lawmaker who sponsored the bill, said public support has grown for civil unions because same-sex couples face the same challenges as other families.
"We today are remedying an exclusion that has gone on for too long," said Steadman, who has been a leader in the gay-rights movement here since the days when voters passed the state's antidiscrimination amendment in 1992.
Illinois
A proposal to make Illinois the 10th state to allow same-sex couples to marry received the Senate's approval on Valentine's Day. Only one Republican voted in favor of it.
Now House members are sending mixed signals about it.
The most powerful man in the General Assembly, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, last week said the measure is 12 votes short of approval. But one of the bill's top sponsors, Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, said it's closer than that. In the past, Harris and other supporters have said they would not call the proposal for a vote until they are certain they have the 60 votes needed to pass it.
New Mexico – ACLU announces NM lawsuit on same-sex marriage
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Thursday aimed at forcing state officials to recognize same-sex marriage under current New Mexico law,
The legal action marked yet another effort by advocacy groups to persuade county clerks to issue marriagelicenses across the state.
The lawsuit was filed in state district court on behalf of two lesbian couples who sought marriage licenses in Bernalillo County.
It claims the current ban on same-sex marriage violates the New Mexico Constitution. The ACLU-NM said it wants to eventually get the New Mexico Supreme Court to decide the dispute.
"They filed this lawsuit today in the hopes that someday soon no committed, loving same-sex couple will be turned away and excluded from marriage because of the one they love," said Peter Simonson, executive director of ACLU-NM.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Albuquerque couple Miriam Rand, 63, and Ona Porter, 66, and Santa Fe couple Rose Griego, 47, and Kim Kiel, 44.
The lawsuit came as local and state officials argue whether current New Mexico law allows county clerks to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
Santa Fe Mayor David Coss publically encouraged county clerks this week to issue such licenses and said current law allows it.
But clerks in Curry, Dona Ana and Santa Fe counties said state law doesn't let them issue same-sex marriagelicenses and they won't do so without an opinion from state Attorney General Gary King.
Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for King, said the attorney general has not seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.
State Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Las Cruces, has asked King to issue on opinion on the matter.
"We will be working as expeditiously as possible to formulate a response" to the request, Sisneros said.
The lawsuit was the latest in the long fight for same-sex marriage in one of the most Catholic states in the nation.
In 2004, a Sandoval County clerk issued 64 licenses to same-sex couples but then-Attorney General Patricia Madrid soon declared the licenses were invalid. A court later ordered the clerk to not issue such licenses.
Porter said at a news conference Thursday that the lawsuit came just a few weeks after she and Rand celebrated their 25th anniversary as a couple.
"Without the legal ties of marriage, it would have been easy for either of us to cut and run," Porter said. "We did not. Not because we are heroic or martyrs but because we are a family ... loving, committed and responsible."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Compiled from AP dispatches