Marriage equality update

Arkansas

Ark. group submits gay marriage proposal for 2016 

Little Rock, Ark. (AP) — A group has asked Arkansas' attorney general to approve the wording of a measure legalizing gay marriage for the 2016 ballot.

The Arkansas Initiative for Marriage Equality on Tuesday asked Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to certify the proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize same-sex marriage. If McDaniel certifies the measure, the group can begin gathering signatures needed to place it on the ballot.

If approved by voters, the amendment would state that the right to marry shall not be abridged or denied on account of gender and sexual orientation. The measure would not require churches or religious organizations to perform gay marriages.

Another group has submitted a proposal for next year's ballot that would repeal the Arkansas Constitution's ban on gay marriage.

Illinois

Couples seek ruling in Illinois gay marriage case 

Tammey Webber, Associated Press

Chicago (AP) — Twenty-five couples who filed a lawsuit challenging Illinois' ban on gay marriage asked a judge on Wednesday to rule quickly in their favor, saying a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down part of a law denying federal benefits to married gay couples creates a new urgency in the state.

Illinois legalized civil unions two years ago, but the recent Supreme Court decision applies only to married gay couples.

Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a motion for summary judgment in Cook County Circuit Court. They said Judge Sophia Hall could rule on the motion as soon as Aug. 6, when oral arguments are scheduled on a defense motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

"We will say that we should win as a matter of law" under the state constitution, said Camilla Taylor, Lambda Legal's marriage project director. "Illinois now is the only thing standing between these families and numerous federal rights."

A lawyer representing five downstate county clerks — who are defending the ban after the state attorney general and Cook County prosecutor refused to do so — said the request is premature because all the evidence has not yet been presented. He also complained that the plaintiffs took nine months to respond to the motion to dismiss the case.

"For them to come in (now) ... has me wondering if they're particularly confident of their legal position as a matter of law," said Peter Breen, executive director of the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm that opposes gay marriage.

Wednesday's motion comes a day after civil rights lawyers in Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn that state's 17-year-old ban on same-sex marriage and to force the state to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples who wed in other jurisdictions.

Same-sex marriage is legal, or soon will be, in 13 states. Federal courts in California are so far the only ones that have said a state same-sex marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution. Meanwhile, federal court challenges are emerging in other states, including Nevada, Hawaii and Michigan. In the coming days and weeks, the ACLU plans to lodge same-sex marriage challenges in North Carolina and Virginia.

It also is pursuing same-sex marriage legislation in several other states and referenda in Oregon and Nevada in the coming years, ACLU lawyers said.

Illinois' lawsuit was filed last year against Cook County Clerk David Orr, a supporter of gay marriage whose office is responsible for issuing marriage licenses in Chicago and the rest of the county. All plaintiffs had applied for and been denied marriage licenses in Cook County.

But in an unusual move, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez declined to defend the state's 17-year-old ban, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, saying it violates the state constitution's equal protection clause. The downstate clerks later were granted permission to intervene.

Alvarez said it was her job to represent Orr, and they both agreed with the plaintiffs. Madigan said she would file arguments in support of the plaintiffs.

John Knight, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Project of the ACLU of Illinois, said only marriage will ensure that gay couples in Illinois get protections that other married couples enjoy, including family medical leave and veterans and tax benefits.

James Darby, an 81-year-old Korean War veteran, said he wants to be buried in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois, along with his partner of 50 years, Patrick Bova, 75. But as of now, that's impossible.

"I gave up four years of my life during the Korean War, I served my country ... and I came back home and expected to have the same rights as everyone else," said Darby. "But I'm considered a second-class citizen in my own state."

Bova said he's "looking forward to the time when our marriage and its practical and emotional aspects will be realized. I think 50 years is a long time to wait."

Michigan

Fall showdown in court on Mich. gay marriage ban 

Detroit (AP) — A federal judge says he'll hear arguments Oct. 1 on the legality of Michigan's ban on gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

Judge Bernard Friedman set the date Wednesday in what could be a ground-breaking lawsuit filed by two Detroit-area nurses who are lesbians.

Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer and three adopted children live under one roof in Hazel Park. But Michigan law bars the women from jointly adopting each other's kids.

At the judge's suggestion, the lawsuit was expanded last year to also challenge a 2004 constitutional amendment that recognizes marriage in Michigan as only between a man and a woman. Rowse and DeBoer say the amendment and the adoption law violate their rights.

Friedman recently turned down the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit.

Virginia

ACLU to challenge Va. gay marriage ban in court 

Larry O’Dell, Associated Press

Richmond, Va. (AP) — The ACLU of Virginia said Tuesday that it will file a federal lawsuit challenging the state's gay marriage ban.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, the organization's executive director, made the announcement less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied federal benefits to married gay couples. The justices also left intact a lower court ruling overturning California’s gay marriage ban — a decision that was based on a legal technicality and did not address the law's constitutionality.

Gastanaga said lawyers from the ACLU and the gay rights group Lambda Legal will argue that a Virginia constitutional amendment and three underlying statutes violate the federal constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law. The amendment and statutes prohibit gay marriage and deny recognition of such marriages sanctioned by other states.

"Thousands of Virginia couples are already living the deep commitment associated with marriage, without legal recognition of their relationships," Gastanaga said in a written statement. "There is no rational reason for denying these loving couples the freedom to marry and every reason to grant them the same recognition by civil authorities that opposite-sex couples have."

She said the lawsuit will be filed within a couple of weeks.

Brian Gottstein, a spokesman for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, declined to comment because the lawsuit has not been filed. After last month's Supreme Court rulings, Gottstein said that "this office will continue to defend challenges to the constitution and the laws of Virginia."

The conservative Family Foundation of Virginia noted that Virginians voted 57 percent to 43 percent to approve the anti-gay marriage amendment in 2006. Victoria Cobb, the organization's president, said the ACLU "is attempting to subvert the will of the people through marriage redefinition by judicial fiat."

The gay rights group Equality Virginia praised the ACLU and Lambda Legal for taking the matter to court.

"Since the Supreme Court's groundbreaking ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, it remains unclear what exactly the decision means for loving gay and lesbian couples in Virginia," said Equality Virginia's executive director, James Parrish. "We applaud and support the actions of the ACLU and Lambda Legal to help bring all of the benefits, rights, and responsibilities that come with marriage equality to every family in Virginia."

About three dozen states do not allow same-sex marriage, and Virginia is one of 29 states that have put the ban in their constitutions. The ACLU is also filing legal challenges to some of the other state bans as part of its nationwide "Out for Freedom" initiative, which seeks change at the ballot box and in legislatures as well as in the courts.

The ACLU said its goal is to legalize gay marriage in at least 20 states by the end of 2016.

North Carolina

AG won't block ACLU's NC gay marriage ban case 

Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) — The legal forum for challenging North Carolina's constitutional ban on same-sex marriages is taking shape in a Greensboro federal court.

The ACLU and Attorney General Roy Cooper's office said Friday that Cooper won't fight the civil-rights organization expanding an existing lawsuit against a state law which says unmarried couples cannot be recognized as equal parents.

Cooper is defending the state in that lawsuit. Spokeswoman Noelle Talley says Cooper won't oppose expanding the case because both the marriage and equal adoption laws were headed to court, so combining them into one case will be more efficient.

NC Values Coalition executive director Tami Fitzgerald says Cooper is making a mistake. North Carolina voters adopted the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in May 2012.

Ohio

Ex-Republican AG backs gay marriage effort in Ohio 

Ann Sanner, Associated Press

Columbus, Ohio (AP) — A prominent Ohio Republican and former Cabinet member of Gov. John Kasich's administration said Monday that he supports an effort to overturn the state's ban on same-sex marriage, contending the prohibition fosters intolerance and creates a roadblock to diversity.

Jim Petro, a former attorney general and former state chancellor of higher education, has a daughter who is gay. She and her wife, who live in Massachusetts, are expecting their first child this fall.

"I believe in marriage equality, and I believe Ohio will be better and have better prospects for economic growth and prosperity if we did not have restrictive language in our constitution as (the ban) provides," he told reporters at a news conference in Columbus.

Petro was joined by Ian James, the co-founder of FreedomOhio, which is seeking to repeal and replace a 2004 constitutional amendment that prohibits gay marriage in Ohio.

Petro's endorsement of the repeal effort comes as the group is trying to sway more Republicans to publicly back the campaign.

The group's replacement amendment would allow two consenting adults to marry regardless of gender. It also wouldn't require churches and other religious institutions to perform or recognize a marriage.

James said getting the amendment passed in the perennial presidential battleground state would require GOP supporters of gay marriage to be just as engaged as Democrats.

Gay marriage has long been an issue of partisan political debate, with many Republicans opposed. Though the GOP has been grappling with the nation's increasing acceptance of gay rights.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, announced his support of same-sex marriage earlier this year after learning one of his sons is gay. His reversal made him the first Republican in the Senate to back gay marriage.

James said the group has had conversations with Portman on the amendment, and the senator has indicated he doesn't want to take a position as a campaign operative.

Petro has previously announced his opposition to the state's amendment banning gay marriage. He was the first statewide elected official at the time to come out against the 2004 ballot issue, saying it was too vague and could hurt the economy.

He said Monday that he has been surprised by the reluctance and hesitation of the GOP to support gay marriage.

"Because Republicans should be for freedom, they should be for equality and they should be supportive of the notion of commitment," he said.

Petro served two terms as Ohio auditor before being elected the state attorney general in 2002. He sought the governor's seat in 2006 but lost a GOP primary among three sitting state officeholders. He retired as chancellor under Kasich in February.

Kasich, a Republican who faces re-election next year, opposes gay marriage and civil unions.

Supporters of the replacement amendment have been circulating petitions for more than a year. They need more than 385,000 valid signatures by next July to get the issue before voters in November 2014.

James told reporters that he believed the campaign already had met the required number based on the signatures that the group had on hand and in the field. He said more than 4,000 supporters have been out collecting signatures.

The 2004 amendment to ban gay marriage in Ohio has been credited with increasing turnout in the state's GOP-heavy south and west, helping George W. Bush win carry the pivotal state. It was supported by 62 percent of Ohio voters at the time.

The leader of a conservative group that promoted passage of the ban said its backers began organizing last year and were prepared to defend the current amendment.

Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values Action, said his organization planned to make gay marriage an election issue for each member of the Ohio Legislature, should the amendment be on the ballot.

"Candidates who support same sex marriage will pay a price," he said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

July 12, 2013