Marriage equality update
More than 2,400 gay couples have married in Wash.
RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — More than 2,400 gay and lesbian couples have gotten married in Washington state since the state's voter-approved same-sex marriage law took effect last December, according to numbers released Thursday by the state.
The data released by the state Department of Health covers same-sex marriages from when licenses first were issued in early December until the end of March. Individual counties had released same-sex marriage numbers previously, but the Department of Health's numbers are the first statewide look at how many people took advantage of the new law.
According to the Department of Health:
—Same-sex marriages occurred in 35 of the state 39 counties during the December-end of March timeframe.
—Same-sex marriages represented more than 20 percent of the 11,661 marriages that took place during that same period of time.
—King County had the highest number of same-sex marriages, with 1,321.
—63 percent of same-sex marriages were female couples.
—14 percent of the weddings were for couples who had traveled to Washington state from other states.
Washington state is one of 12 states, plus Washington, D.C., where same-sex marriage is legal. Minnesota is the most recent state to allow same-sex couples to marry after Gov. Mark Dayton signed legislation into law May 14, and couples there started picking up their marriage licenses on Thursday.
In November, nearly 54 percent of voters in Washington state approved a referendum that had asked them to either approve or reject the state law legalizing same-sex marriage that lawmakers passed earlier in the year.
The law took effect on Dec. 6, when hundreds of gay and lesbian couples picked up their marriage licenses. But because of the state's three-day waiting period, the earliest weddings started taking place was on Dec. 9. Numerous weddings took place across the state, both private and public, with the largest event hosted by Seattle City Hall, where more than 130 couples took part.
After all marriages, counties send marriage certificates to the state Department of Health. Spokesman Tim Church said that March is the most recent month the state has complete numbers for because it takes some time for the certificates to get from the counties and entered into the system. Church said that future reports will be released annually.
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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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NM couple files lawsuit seeking same-sex marriage
RUSSELL CONTRERAS, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two Santa Fe men filed a lawsuit Thursday to force New Mexico courts to decide the politically thorny issue of whether gay marriage is legal in the state.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Alexander Hanna and Yon Hudson asks a state district court to order the Santa Fe County clerk to issue them a marriage license. The case lays the groundwork for the gay marriage dispute to potentially soon end up before New Mexico's highest court.
The challenge came the same day that New Mexico Attorney General Gary King — who is running for governor in 2014 — declined to issue a formal opinion on whether same-sex marriage is legal in New Mexico. An internal legal analysis by his staff, however, concluded that state law doesn't allow same-sex marriage but is vulnerable to a constitutional challenge.
In March, two other same-sex New Mexico couples filed lawsuits in Bernalillo County in March to force New Mexico courts to rule whether same-sex marriage is legal. The lawsuit, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, claims the current ban on same-sex marriage violates the New Mexico Constitution.
Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, who is representing the Santa Fe couple in the latest lawsuit, said they believe the clerk wanted to issue them a marriage license but is hindered by confusion over New Mexico law.
"Today's petition is meant to be the means by which she, and others, will get the legal clarification they need to proceed with issuing licenses," Egolf said.
At an Albuquerque news conference, King said the legal questions of same-sexmarriage need to be sorted out by lawmakers and the courts.
"Based on extensive research, we cannot state definitively that New Mexico law currently permits same-sex marriage," King said. "Although state statutes may limitmarriage to couples of the opposite sex, this does not mean they will pass constitutional muster."
Sean Cunniff, an assistant attorney general, concluded in a legal analysis "thatgay marriage is not currently authorized under New Mexico's statutory law."
The state's top lawyer was asked by State Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Las Cruces, earlier this year to issue a formal opinion on the matter.
King said his decision had nothing to do with him seeking the state's highest office.
Still, his refusal to issue a formal opinion was criticized by some liberal-leaning groups, which hoped that King would give a green light to county clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico said he was disappointed with King's decision. "This morning, the attorney general declined to issue an opinion, instead endorsing the status quo of confusion and inequality for the foreseeable future," Davis said.
Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, a supporter of same-sex marriage, also said he was disappointed with King's announcement. "My heart goes out to those who have seen their civil rights denied for another day," Coss said in a statement.
The New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops said Thursday it stands by its statement that the institution of marriage should remain between one man and one woman.
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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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Gay marriage measure eyed for 2014 ballot in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A group seeking to overturn Ohio's ban on same-sex marriage says it's aiming to put the issue before voters in 2014.
Leaders of FreedomOhio say they decided not to try for this year's ballot and to continue discussing the idea with voters and raising resources for their campaign.
They've also met with the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations to discuss the effort. Some of those groups say they haven't agreed to particular timing for a ballot effort.
FreedomOhio wants to overturn the state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which was supported by 62 percent of Ohio voters in 2004.
Opponents of the ban are collecting signatures to place their own constitutional amendment on the ballot. It wouldn't require churches and other religious institutions to perform or recognize a marriage.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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UK's House of Lords backs gay marriage bill
LONDON (AP) — Britain's House of Lords has voted by a majority to defeat a motion that blocks a same-sex marriage bill, moving the initiative a step closer to becoming law.
The upper house of Parliament on Tuesday voted 390 to 148 to back the bill, which will enable gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales if approved.
The bill will have to go through further readings in Parliament and be approved by Queen Elizabeth II.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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German court grants gay unions marriage tax breaks
JUERGEN BAETZ, Associated Press
BERLIN (AP) — Gay rights campaigners won a victory over the German government Thursday as the country's top court ruled that homosexual couples in civil unions should receive the same tax benefits as heterosexual married couples.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ruled that treating the two forms of partnership differently for tax purposes violates the country's guarantee of equal rights.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government had long resisted granting the same tax benefits to gay couples in civil unions. Those unions — officially certified by a notary and carrying similar rights and duties to wedlock — are widely accepted by Germany's gay community as equivalent to marriage.
The court said that treating civil unions differently amounts to "unequal treatment because of sexual orientation." Failure to be vigilant in guaranteeing equality "leads to discrimination against a minority," it warned.
Married couples in Germany are able to jointly declare their taxable incomes, which can significantly lower their overall tax burden especially when one partner has higher pay. The rule costs the government annually about 15.5 billion euros ($20 billion), although it estimates that extending the same right to the country's some 27,000 civil unions will only add about 30 million euros to the bill.
The court acknowledged that married couples enjoy special privileges because the partners also accept a strong responsibility for each other, including financial, but it argued that the civil union implies the same duties and responsibilities for gay partners.
The court ordered the government to retroactively amend the relevant laws dating back to 2001, when civil union status was first introduced by a previous center-left government.
Two of the court's eight judges issued a dissenting minority opinion, but that does not affect the validity of the verdict.
The government vowed it will seek to get the necessary legislation passed by this fall to implement the court decision.
Gay rights campaigners cheered the court decision.
"This is a full-blown victory," said opposition lawmaker Volker Beck, an outspoken gay-rights advocate. He added that the next hurdle should be to grant gay couples equal rights when it comes to adoption.
"The principle of equal treatment is valid for all citizens, independently of their sexual orientation," said the German Association of Lesbians and Gays. Merkel's government "refuses to learn that lesson by all means."
Granting more rights to homosexual couples is relatively uncontroversial among the wider public in Germany — unlike in France where repeated protests against legalizinggay marriage this year have seen tens of thousands take to the streets.
Still, conservative politicians from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party — historically close to the Christian churches — have argued that married couples must enjoy higher protection and tax benefits because they usually have children. But the court struck down that argument, saying that policies in favor of families and children cannot be promoted by discriminating against civil unions.
The decision now comes as a blow to Merkel only three months ahead of federal elections. Her governing coalition resisted calls to grant civil unions the same rights as married couples, despite an earlier ruling by the country's top court which strongly indicated that the judges in Karlsruhe were almost certain to rule against the government in this case.
Several opposition leaders say Merkel's government has failed to show leadership on the issue, and instead let the court take the lead to avoid a possible backlash from her conservative voter base.
"Merkel's coalition is driven by the Federal Constitutional Court," said lawmaker Thomas Oppermann of Germany's main opposition party, the Social Democrats. "She still does not want to realize that the time has long come for fully equal treatment of civil unions and marriage," he added.
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Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.