Same-Sex Marriage Update

[MsTinkerbelly]

Gay troops prep for September marriage spree, put wedding parties on ice


By Bill Briggs, NBC News contributor

September marks nuptial season across part of the American military as gay and lesbian troops cash in new, Pentagon-granted leaves to tie the knot.

Starting Tuesday, the Pentagon is allowing gay troops to take travel leaves for up to seven days — or as many 10 days for those stationed abroad — as long as those service members live 100-plus miles away from a state that allows same-sex marriages.

Scores of service members are draining their savings just to pay for airfare, hotels and rental cars — common, logistical necessities for obtaining a marriage certificate in one of the 13 states where same-sex marriage is legal, advocates say.

While many of these unions may lack champagne-soaked celebrations, they are fueled by a practical brand of urgency: gaining immediate, military-family benefits, said Stephen Peters, executive director of the American Military Partner Association (AMPA).

After the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the Defense of Marriage Act, leaders at the Department of Defense announced that same-sex spouses of military members would become eligible this month for an array of federal benefits previously offered only to heterosexual spouses, from housing to health care. At the same time, DOD authorized the special leaves for troops seeking same-sex marriages.

"This will provide accelerated access to the full range of benefits offered to married military couples throughout the Department, and help level the playing field between opposite-sex and same-sex couples seeking to be married," Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a Pentagon spokesman, said via email. "We do not have an estimate of how many people this will impact."

A week to wed

At least three service members who work with AMPA have all hatched similar marriage plans for this month: quick trips to California to obtain licenses during their authorized leaves with festive wedding parties to follow sometime next year — or beyond.

"For us, California is the easiest way to go," said Melissa Jones, an Army E-3 (private first class), based at Fort Hood, Texas. She and her girlfriend, Danielle Nelson, have booked a seven-day trip to San Diego later this month. "We’re going to pretty much just get it done at the county courthouse. We’re not going to have a ceremony out there. We’ll do that back here with family and friends."

To help pay for their flight and hotel room, Jones and Nelson, both 20, cashed in their large collection of loose change plus $450 in recent bingo winnings.

“Many of our families simply can’t afford the costs of traveling across the country to get married in addition to having a large, expensive ceremony,” said Peters, executive director of the AMPA. “Many can barely afford to travel to a city clerk’s office across the country, wait the required number of days for waiting periods, and finally take care of the paperwork, only to hope for a larger and more formal ceremony at a later date.

“This all boils down to the financial burden they face in having to travel across country — or around the world, for many — a challenge that heterosexual (military) couples are not forced to face in order to care for their family,” Peters added.

'Just for the paper'

Despite the initial costs, the military benefits Jones will gain through marriage will save her thousands of dollars in the long run.
A marriage license will allow Jones to qualify for "base allowance housing," under which the military subsidizes service members' off-base apartments so long as they are legally married or are raising a child or children. That alone saves the couple about $700 per month, Jones said. And as a military spouse, Nelson's college tuition will be federally covered, instantly saving her an additional $4,000 per semester.

If Nelson falls ill after she's married, she can receive her medical treatment at Ford Hood thanks to her new military-family identification card and the official military decal she'll receive for her car. Currently, she must pay for medications out of pocket. The couple has been together for a year and a half, meeting two months before Jones headed to basic training.

"A lot of the urgency of this is that we’re missing out on a lot of benefits," Jones said. "It's not like we’re doing it for the money, but it’s going to help pay for things. I’m 20 years old and I’m helping her pay for college. I also have a car loan and an apartment. We both have full-time jobs. But getting the benefits, she can stop working and can just focus on school.

"I wear (an engagement) ring. People are always asking: 'Are you married?' I’m like: 'Yes and no.' People don't understand that. So I tell them that I'm gay and I have go 1,500 miles away just to get married," Jones said. "It’s not like we’re not going to enjoy it while we're there. But it kind of is just for the paper."

[MsTinkerbelly]

Pennsylvania judge promises quick ruling in marriage equality case

September 5, 2013fte

By Jacob Combs

LGBT Legal Cases Marriage equality Marriage Equality Trials


After yesterday’s oral arguments in a case challenging whether a Pennsylvania county official acted improperly when he began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the state’s ban on marriage equality, the judge hearing the case has promised to issue a speedy decision. From the AP:


Commonwealth Court Judge Dan Pellegrini said a central issue is “how power is allocated in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

“What’s before us today is generally, ‘Who decides?’” Pellegrini told the full courtroom in Harrisburg at the start of oral arguments.

Pellegrini said he was not weighing the constitutionality of the same-sex marriage ban. But questions about its constitutionality arose repeatedly, and Pellegrini said he was concerned about the potential effect of his ruling on various levels of government.

There are several procedural issues in the case that Pellegrini must consider before issuing a final ruling. First, he must determine whether Pennsylvania’s Health Department has legal standing to seek a court order compelling the county official–D. Bruce Hanes–to stop issuing marriage licenses. In addition, the judge must decide whether Hanes is a ‘judicial officer.’ If he is, the state’s Supreme Court may be the only court with jurisdiction over the matter.

By the end of business on Tuesday of this week, Hanes had issued 164 licenses to same-sex couples. We’ll have full coverage of the ruling on EqualityOnTrial when it’s handed down

[blackboot]

Hawaii Marriage Equality

Monday, September 9. Governor Neil Abercrombie just announced a special session of the Legislature being called on October 28th to pass Marriage Equality!

Here comes Hawaii!!!

[MsTinkerbelly]

Wash. Native American Tribe Recognizes Marriage Equality


BY Sunnivie Brydum.

September 09 2013 6:15 PM ET

The Colville Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nation voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to recognize same-sex marriages, according to The Wenatchee World. The ruling will extend to all of the tribe's more than 9,300 members, about half of whom live on the Colville Reservation in north-central Washington State, according to the World.

Council chairman Michael Finley told the paper that the tribe has long recognized and respected LGBT identities, usually referred to as two-spirit in the tribal vernacular. Last week's vote means two-spirited Colvilles will be treated equally and with respect, Finley said. The tribe had already permitted members in same-sex partnerships to add their spouse to their insurance and other benefits plans.

Although Washington State voters approved marriage equality last November, federally recognized Native American tribes are self-governed and aren't subject to state laws.

Several Native American tribes around the country have formally recognized same-sex marriages in recent years. In 2008 the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast became the first Native American tribe to recognize marriage equality, and in 2011 the Suquamish Tribe in Suquamish, Wash., also approved marriage equality. In March of this year, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan also began to recognize same-sex marriages, when it oversaw tribe member Tim LaCroix's marriage to his now-husband, Gene Barfield. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians in Michigan and the Santa Ysabel Tribe of California also recognize same-sex marriages, bringing the total number of U.S. tribes with formal marriage equality to six, according to Equality on Trial.

[MsTinkerbelly]

2014 Marriage Equality Initiative Dropped in Arizona

Groups claim more time is needed to rally support for same-sex marriage in the state.

BY Jase Peeples.

September 10 2013 6:17 PM ET


An initiative campaign planning to put a ballot measure in favor of marriage equality in Arizona before voters in 2014 has been dropped, reports The Arizona Republic.

Equal Marriage Arizona, the primary group behind the initiative, says efforts were scuttled because key national advocacy groups withheld backing of the initiative for 2014 because they believed there would be a greater chance of winning in 2016.

“They didn’t feel like Arizona was ready for equal marriage in 2014,” said Equal Marriage Arizona cochair Erin Ogletree Simpson. “I’m just happy our effort has prompted a focus from the various groups to look at 2016 and start putting together a strategy.”

While Simpson expressed frustration about the wait, most advocacy groups agreed waiting until 2016 would provide the time necessary to rally support for the measure, which would amend the state’s constitution to legalize same-sex marriage. Because that is a presidential election year, voter turnout is likely to be higher than in 2014, and that would be beneficial as well, they said.

Arizona voters amended their constiution to ban same-sex marriage in 2008, approving Proposition 102, which stated, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.”

[MsTinkerbelly]

New Mexico Poised to Enact Marriage Equality


by Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Legal Analyst, RH Reality Check

September 9, 2013 - 9:54 am

The New Mexico Supreme Court ordered a hearing to resolve whether or not county clerks can move forward with issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.


Another state took a step forward toward ensuring marriage equality Friday as New Mexico’s highest court set an October 23 hearing date to determine whether marriage licenses can be issued to same-sex couples in the state.

The court issued the order a day after all 33 of New Mexico’s counties and clerks filed a petition asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to rule whether a district judge in Albuquerque was correct last week in holding it was unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples based on a 1972 voter-approved equal rights constitutional amendment that prohibits discrimination “on account of the sex of any person.”

The dispute arose late August when the Dona Ana County clerk determined, based on this summer’s rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 from the U.S. Supreme Court, that the county could issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Seven other counties have followed Dona Ana County in issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, or are planning to.

Same-sex marriage is neither explicitly authorized nor prohibited in New Mexico. But current and previous state attorneys general have argued the state has a de facto ban on same-sex marriage because state statutes contain a marriage license application with sections for male and female applicants, as well as other statutory references to “husband” and “wife.” Lawmakers this year tried, and failed, to change the state constitution to explicitly recognize marriage equality. Previous attempts to ban same-sex marriage and to recognize domestic partnerships have also failed in the state.

A ruling from the New Mexico Supreme Court would set a precedent statewide for how county clerks are to proceed in issuing marriage licenses.

The fight for marriage equality in New Mexico stands in stark contrast to the battle over abortion access, currently underway in Albuquerque, where out-of-state protesters have descended on the city to try and push a local ban on abortions after 20 weeks. In August, anti-choice activists obtained enough signatures on a petition to ban the procedure at the local level and put the matter up to a city council vote. The Albuquerque campaign was first organized by members of Operation Rescue in 2010.

Parties have until September 23 to submit written arguments to the New Mexico Supreme Court. The court could issue a ruling immediately following arguments, though it is more likely it will take the matter under advisement and rule sometime later. But the early hearing date and quick response suggests the court’s interest in a quick resolution of the issue

[MsTinkerbelly]

Costa Rican court dashes advocates hopes of marriage equality

September 23, 2013fte

By Jacob Combs

Marriage equality


LGBT advocates on Costa Rica who hoped that a law passed earlier this year might lead to civil unions for same-sex couples were dealt a blow last week when a court in the nation’s capitol ruled against them. The Tico Times reports:


A family court judge in San José has rejected a gay domestic partnership application in the first legal test of Costa Rica’s controversial reform to the Young Person Law.

Alberto González and Lorenzo Serrano discovered in July that San José Family Court Judge Jorge Arturo Marchena Rosabel had rejected their petition for a legally recognized domestic partnership. The two young men have been a couple for seven years and have lived together for six-and-half years.

“We knew that the result could be positive or negative. Honestly, because of the Young Person Law we thought it would go through but there you have it, it didn’t happen,” González told The Tico Times Friday.

The couple’s lawyer, Marco Castillo, president of LGBT organization Diversity Movement, said that they had already appealed the judge’s decision and are waiting for a response. The Supreme Tribunal of the Family Courts will hear the appeal.

The July modification of the Young Person Law added an amendment that common-law marriages must be granted without “discrimination contrary to human dignity.” González and Serrano applied for a domestic partnership–which would have provided them some, but not all of the rights of marriage–after the law was changed. In his ruling, Judge Marchena pointed to several other provisions in Costa Rican law that mandate that marriages and domestic partnerships are open only to different-sex couples