Same-Sex Marriage Update

MsTinkerbelly · 01-23-2012, 11:04 AM

Gov. Christie nominates openly gay New Jersey Supreme Court justice
By Adam Bink

Well, like Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality, you could pick me up off the floor too. His statement:

A few minutes ago, just before announcing his two new Supreme Court nominees, Governor Christie called me on my cell phone to tell me he is nominating Bruce Harris to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Bruce will become the first openly LGBT person in history, and the third African-American person in history, to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Most importantly, Bruce is eminently qualified to be a Supreme Court justice.

As I told the Governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor.

When I met with Governor Christie in 2010 at his request, he told me that though we would differ on some issues like marriage equality, he viewed the LGBT community as an important part of New Jersey, and that he wanted his Administration to have a good working relationship with Garden State Equality. That has been the case every step of the way. Since Governor Christie took office, his Administration has treated us with warmth and responsiveness. Yes is yes, no is no, and we’ll get back to you means they get back to you faster than you thought, usually with invaluable help. To be clear, the Governor and his staff were invaluable in helping us pass the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, the nation’s strongest anti-bullying law that the governor signed in January 2011.

No one’s asked me to say any of this – I am simply giving credit where credit is due, too rare in political life.

Now, as for the marriage equality bill: The Governor and I didn’t discuss that in our phone conversation. I recognize, and caution everyone, that it would be unwise to read any change here in the Governor’s position on marriage equality; he has said in past months and years that he would veto the bill, and we take him at his word. We will fight hard every minute of every day to win marriage equality in New Jersey. Nothing will deter us.

But again, right now, that doesn’t mean we should not give credit where credit is due. Today, the Governor has made civil rights history, and on behalf of all of us at Garden State Equality, I extend to him our most profound appreciation.

Worth noting that this week will begin hearings on the marriage equality legislation in New Jersey (as well as in Washington — more on that from Jacob later).

MsTinkerbelly · 01-23-2012, 01:35 PM

Marriage equality bill to be debated in Washington legislature today
By Jacob Combs

Thanks to Sagesse for posting this in Quick Hits.

Today, hearings will be held in in the Washington legislature to debate the recently introduced bill that would make marriage equality in the state a reality. The Seattle Times has the schedule for the hearings, with the first to begin at 10:00 am in the Senate (where panels will argue both the pros and cons of the bill) and the second to take place in the House beginning at 1:30 (the marriage equality bill will be the last of five to be brought up, and will probably be covered around 2:30.) Both hearings will be aired live on the website of TVW, the state’s equivalent of C-SPAN.

In other news, the Williams Institute at UCLA released a report last week that marriage equality would bring an $88 million boost to the Washington economy and provide $8 million of tax revenue in its first three years from resident same-sex couples alone. From the report:

“Our study estimates that resident same-sex couples will spend $39 million on weddings in Washington in the first year alone. That translates to approximately $3.4 million in tax revenue, given Washington sales tax rates.”

Although the Williams report did not specifically calculate the effects of out-of-state couples coming to marry in Washington, those numbers would no doubt have an effect on the state’s economy as well. It’s unclear whether the report’s data will be brought up at today’s hearing, but on a day devoted to legislative debate about the merits of same-sex marriage, it’s well worth noting that marriage equality isn’t just good policy from a civil rights perspective, but good economic policy as well

01-23-2012, 11:04 AM	#1
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,906 Times in 5,017 Posts Rep Power: 0	Cross posted...from the prop 8 blog Gov. Christie nominates openly gay New Jersey Supreme Court justice By Adam Bink Well, like Steven Goldstein of Garden State Equality, you could pick me up off the floor too. His statement: A few minutes ago, just before announcing his two new Supreme Court nominees, Governor Christie called me on my cell phone to tell me he is nominating Bruce Harris to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Bruce will become the first openly LGBT person in history, and the third African-American person in history, to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Most importantly, Bruce is eminently qualified to be a Supreme Court justice. As I told the Governor right then and there, you could have picked me up off the floor. When I met with Governor Christie in 2010 at his request, he told me that though we would differ on some issues like marriage equality, he viewed the LGBT community as an important part of New Jersey, and that he wanted his Administration to have a good working relationship with Garden State Equality. That has been the case every step of the way. Since Governor Christie took office, his Administration has treated us with warmth and responsiveness. Yes is yes, no is no, and we’ll get back to you means they get back to you faster than you thought, usually with invaluable help. To be clear, the Governor and his staff were invaluable in helping us pass the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights, the nation’s strongest anti-bullying law that the governor signed in January 2011. No one’s asked me to say any of this – I am simply giving credit where credit is due, too rare in political life. Now, as for the marriage equality bill: The Governor and I didn’t discuss that in our phone conversation. I recognize, and caution everyone, that it would be unwise to read any change here in the Governor’s position on marriage equality; he has said in past months and years that he would veto the bill, and we take him at his word. We will fight hard every minute of every day to win marriage equality in New Jersey. Nothing will deter us. But again, right now, that doesn’t mean we should not give credit where credit is due. Today, the Governor has made civil rights history, and on behalf of all of us at Garden State Equality, I extend to him our most profound appreciation. Worth noting that this week will begin hearings on the marriage equality legislation in New Jersey (as well as in Washington — more on that from Jacob later).

01-23-2012, 01:35 PM	#2
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,906 Times in 5,017 Posts Rep Power: 0	Prop 8 Blog...moving forward in Washington State Marriage equality bill to be debated in Washington legislature today By Jacob Combs Thanks to Sagesse for posting this in Quick Hits. Today, hearings will be held in in the Washington legislature to debate the recently introduced bill that would make marriage equality in the state a reality. The Seattle Times has the schedule for the hearings, with the first to begin at 10:00 am in the Senate (where panels will argue both the pros and cons of the bill) and the second to take place in the House beginning at 1:30 (the marriage equality bill will be the last of five to be brought up, and will probably be covered around 2:30.) Both hearings will be aired live on the website of TVW, the state’s equivalent of C-SPAN. In other news, the Williams Institute at UCLA released a report last week that marriage equality would bring an $88 million boost to the Washington economy and provide $8 million of tax revenue in its first three years from resident same-sex couples alone. From the report: “Our study estimates that resident same-sex couples will spend $39 million on weddings in Washington in the first year alone. That translates to approximately $3.4 million in tax revenue, given Washington sales tax rates.” Although the Williams report did not specifically calculate the effects of out-of-state couples coming to marry in Washington, those numbers would no doubt have an effect on the state’s economy as well. It’s unclear whether the report’s data will be brought up at today’s hearing, but on a day devoted to legislative debate about the merits of same-sex marriage, it’s well worth noting that marriage equality isn’t just good policy from a civil rights perspective, but good economic policy as well