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Take Action
1. Donate to Our Campaign
2. Sign the Petition:
"I won't vote for anyone who supports the anti-gay amendment"
41,232 pledges to date
3. Join the Email List
4. Get theT-Shirts
"Marriage Is A Human Right, Not a Heterosexual Privilege" T-Shirts come in black or white for $16
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5. Join a Rally or Protest!
6. Organize A Rally in Your Community - click here for an Action Kit For Same-Sex Marriage Rights
7. Contact the Companies
click here to contact companies that give money to elect bigots who support adding anti-gay language to the US Constitution
8. Contact the Senators
9. Keep Informed on the Issues
Click here for an archive of News Articles
10. Marriage Equality Meetup
Meetup with other locals who want to defeat the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment which would ban gay marriages and "civil unions."
National Anti Federal Marriage Amendment Meetup Day -
First MONDAY of every Month!
http://antiban.meetup.com/
Marriage Equality Meetup info at Temenos
Marriage Equality Meetup Discussion Group for Hosts at Yahoo! Groups
BACKGROUND
Jerry Falwell and Senate Republican leaders want to write their personal religious beliefs into our US Constitution. Using the scare tactic of 'same sex marriage,' they want to deny civil rights and equal benefits to millions of people. For the first time in our history, other than Prohibition, a constitutional amendment would take rights away from Americans rather than defend their freedoms. Don't let that happen. Sign the pledge and promise not to vote for, or support, any politician who favors adding anti-gay prejudice to the US Constitution.
Robin Tyler,
National Co-Chair-DontAmend.com Executive Director, The Equality Campaign - mail: RTdontamend@aol.com
Fight For Freedom, Justice and the American Way...
Stop the Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage
Equal Rights & Protections For All Under the Law!
No More Gender Based Discrimination!
Marriage is a Human Right - NOT a Heterosexual Privilege
May 18, 2004 -- Gay activists made their way to the roof of Chicago's City Hall / County Building and dropped a 70 foot banner proclaiming "Marriage is our Right!" Miraculously they made good their escape, evading arrest in the "City That Works." The activists are part of DontAmend.com, and a local coalition, Equal Marriage NOW!
Down below, following a boisterous rally of over 300, activists went inside the building to the Cook County Marriage License Bureau to demand marriage licenses. After Bureau officials refused to treat them as equally as the straight couples, the activists occupied the office, shutting it down for business for the balance of the afternoon.
Vowing to keep the Bureau shut down until same sex couples are treated equally, activists again occupied the Marriage License Bureau Office today, until four of their number were arrested for disorderly conduct for refusing to cede their place in line at the marriage license counter.
More pictures of the protest are available HERE.
Wedding bans
Chapter 207 of the Massachusetts General Laws lists several prohibitions to marriage, including marriages between close relatives, and says that marriages that are considered void in other states cannot be permitted in Massachusetts. Here are two of the relevant sections:
Section 11. No marriage shall be contracted in this Commonwealth by a party residing and intending to continue to reside in another jurisdiction if such marriage would be void if contracted in such other jurisdiction, and every marriage contracted in this Commonwealth in violation hereof shall be null and void.
Section 12. Before issuing a license to marry a person who resides and intends to continue to reside in another state, the officer having authority to issue the license shall satisfy himself, by requiring affidavits or otherwise, that such person is not prohibited from intermarrying by the laws of the jurisdiction where he or she resides.
• Source: Massachusetts General Laws
CONSERVATIVE QUOTES:
"I am dedicating my talents, time and energies over the next few years to the passage of an amendment to the US Constitution that will protect the traditional family."
- Jerry Falwell
"If this amendment is pursued by this administration, it's the end of any relationship between the gay community and the Republican party."
- Andrew Sullivan
"I think the fact of the matter, of course, is that . . . different states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area."
- Vice President Dick Cheney
"That's Dick Cheney's view, I happen to share that view, and many in the party share that view as well... this is not going to be the debate of this campaign."
- Mary Matalin, former Bush White House strategist.
"Leave it up to the states."
- John McLaughlin, conservative commentator, The McLaughlin Group
"The conservative course is not to banish gay people from making such commitments. It is to expect that they make such commitments. We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage."
- David Brooks, conservative commentator on The News Hour, quoted in the NYT.
"The idea of amending the Constitution to resolve a political issue of the culture war is (no pun intended) to court disaster.... This movement will only deepen the fault lines in our fractured civic culture and weaken its underpinnings. To do this in peacetime would be unwise; to prosecute it in the midst of war is reckless. "
- David Horowitz, conservative writer and activist.
*Ronald Reagan - divorced the mother of two of his children to marry Nancy Reagan who bore him a daughter only 7 months after the marriage.
*Bob Dole - divorced the mother of his child, who had nursed him through the long recovery from his war wounds.
*Newt Gingrich - divorced his wife who was dying of cancer. Married again and divorced her, married again
*Dick Armey - House Majority Leader - divorced*Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas - divorced
*Gov. John Engler of Michigan - divorced
*Gov. Pete Wilson of California - divorced
*George Will - divorced
*Sen. Lauch Faircloth - divorced
*Rush Limbaugh - Rush and his current wife Marta have six marriages and four divorces between them.
Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia - Barr, not yet 50 years old, has been married three times. Barr had the audacity to author and push the "Defense of Marriage Act." The current joke making the rounds on Capitol Hill is "Bob Barr...WHICH marriage are you defending?
*Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York - divorced
*Sen. John Warner of Virginia - divorced (once married to Liz Taylor.)
*Gov. George Allen of Virginia - divorced*Henry Kissinger - divorced
*Rep. Helen Chenoweth of Idaho - divorced
*Sen. John McCain of Arizonia - divorced
*Rep. John Kasich of Ohio - divorced
*Rep. Susan Molinari of New York - Republican National Convention Keynote Speaker - divorced
Don't let homosexuals destroy the institution of marriage?!?! The Republicans are doing it!
why you should give a damn about gay marriage
BY STEFFEN SILVIS
At first glance it looks like the curse of tardiness. Davina Kotulski's helpful primer on gay marriage hit the press prior to the revolution breaking out in San Francisco (her native city) and Portland (ours). But though recent events will be missing from her primary arguments, the absence will in no way invalidate her message: Gays and lesbians deserve full equality now.Kotulski wrote Why You Should Give a Damn about Gay Marriage for three groups of people: the committed (who are, as I write this, marching bravely to the altar), the straight but not narrow (best wishes, Ms. Linn and Co.) and those queers, such as myself, who have long looked disdainfully upon gay marriage as a plot to domesticate our uniqueness. Although I have lingering fears that this part of our struggle for rights might propel Bush and the Paleolithic evangelicals back into power, Kotulski (along with a few wedding receptions last week) has convinced me that this is a cause worth fighting for.Kotulski rigorously marshals her facts both to promote a wider definition of marriage and to respond to many of society's fears (all of which are either baseless or born of ignorance). Her case begins with rights: "There are more than 1,049 federal rights that accompany civil marriage, and some additional 300 per state." These are rights that cover medical emergencies, taxes, insurance, inheritance, burial decisions and such trivialities as frequent-flier programs. Even the right not to testify against one's spouse is denied queers, as Rosie O'Donnell and her now-wife Kelli bitterly discovered in recent legal battles.Kotulski emphasizes each of the legal problems that queers face with traumatic stories from real people who were left without recourse when partners were severely injured or killed, such as that of a homophobic father actually carrying his son's body off for a funeral that would exclude his son's long-term partner. This litany of abuse should put the lie to the idea that what we are demanding is "special rights." Still, never underestimate the viciousness of the severely religious."What do a serial rapist, a murderer, a child pornographer, a lifer, and an armed bank robber share in common?" asks Kotulski. "As long as they are heterosexual, they can all get married in prison." Kotulski has much to say about the "sacredness" of heterosexual marriage; after all, "gay people did not invent the term wife-swapping." It's depressing that in the 21st century, and in what is purportedly a secular country, that we are forced to entertain the views of an opiated mass of Baptists, brandishing the storybook of their sky god as if such ravings had relevance in rational discourse. Yet we must. Marriage is for procreation? "What about a man who wants to marry a post-menopausal woman?" asks Kotulski, or "a woman who marries a man with a vasectomy? Should these marriages be annulled?" There are also the fatuous Christian claims that gay marriage will pry open the lock on incest and polygamy, though the former is excoriated in the Bible unless it's between fathers and daughters, and the latter was practiced quite freely by David and Abraham, two of Jehovah's favorites. The "saved" should try and save themselves.Kotulski ends by supplying helpful outlines of letters to send our elected officials on the subject of marriage as well as an international guide to where in the world civilized minds have triumphed. "Gay marriage is gay liberation," Kotulski stresses. Her book proves that it's also a victory for human rights. I see that now. Originally published on WEDNESDAY, 3/10/2004
POMONA, N.J. (AP) -
The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. called gay marriage a civil rights issue, denouncing a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban it.
Constitutional amendments should be used to expand freedom, not restrict it, Coretta Scott King said Tuesday.
``Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union,'' she said. ``A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages.''
Last month, President Bush said he backed an amendment that would ban same-sex unions, calling marriage ``the most fundamental institution of civilization.''
On Monday, more than two dozen black pastors rallied against gay marriage at a church in Atlanta, attempting to distance the civil rights struggle from the gay rights movement. They signed a declaration outlining their beliefs that marriage should remain a union between a man and a woman.
``To equate a lifestyle choice to racism demeans the work of the entire civil rights movement,'' the statement said. ``People are free in our nation to pursue relationships as they choose. To redefine marriage, however, to suit the preference of those choosing alternative lifestyles is wrong.''
King, the widow of the slain civil rights leader, made her comments Tuesday during a speech at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
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"Marriage Is A Human Right, Not a Heterosexual Privilege" DontAmend.com T-Shirts come in black or white for $16
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Celebrate legal marriage for same sex couples in Massachusetts!
JIM BOURG/REUTERS
Annie Goodridge, 8, daughter of Julie, left, and Hillary Goodridge, wipes tears of joy from her mother's eyes after they successfully applied for their marriage licence at City Hall in Boston yesterday.
Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, who have been partners for 18 years, were married by Cambridge City Clerk Margaret Drury shortly after 9 a.m. EDT.
John Sullivan, left, and his partner Christopher McCarry, both from Alabama, filed to get married Monday in Provincetown.
Gay marriage residency records checked
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Posted: 9:05 PM EDT (0105 GMT)
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Gov. Mitt Romney's administration on Tuesday demanded copies of all marriage-license applications filled out by gay couples in Provincetown and three other cities that openly defied the governor's residency requirement for same-sex marriages. LINK
Out-of-staters file in
By Steve Marantz
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 BostonHerald.com LINK
Mass. gay couples wedded to history
By Thomas Caywood
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 BostonHerald.com LINK
IN PROVINCETOWN
Despite Uncertainties, Out-of-Staters Line Up to Marry
By WARREN ST. JOHN Published: May 18, 2004
The New York Times LINK
Hundreds of Same-Sex Couples Wed in Massachusetts
By PAM BELLUCK Published: May 18, 2004
The New York Times LINK
Gay pairs wed in Massachusetts
Laughter, tears at rites for couples who sued to be able to marry
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 18, 2004 ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle LINK
R.I., Conn. may grant recognition
By Raphael Lewis and Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff
May 18, 2004 The Boston Globe LINK
Public's shifting view can open way to fair solution
Posted 5/17/2004 8:48 PM USATODAY.com LINK
Gay Activists Stage Sit-In For Marriage Rights
Supporters, Opponents Demonstrate
POSTED: 11:51 am CDT May 17, 2004
CHICAGO -- NBC5.com LINK
Syracuse reacts to Mass. gay marriage law
Updated: 5/17/2004 5:37 PM By: Kristin Smith, News 10 Now Web Staff LINK
Bush Reiterates Call for Gay Marriage Ban
Mon May 17, 2004 02:38 PM ET (Reuters) LINK
FROM EARLY MONDAY MORNING:
Gay Couples Line Up for Mass. Marriages
At Midnight, Cambridge Becomes First to Issue State-Sanctioned Licenses
By Jonathan Finer - Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 17, 2004; Page A02 LINK
Eager couples line up early for licenses in Cambridge Opponents plan protests elsewhere in Massachusetts
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, May 17, 2004 ©2004 San Francisco Chronicle LINK
Tears Of Joy At First Gay Marriage Licenses
by Michael J. Meade - 365Gay.com Newscenter Boston Bureau
Posted: May 17, 2004 12:32 am. ET LINK
Kucinich attended the wedding of Bonnie Tinker and Sara Graham in Oregon. The recently married couple said: "As one of the few lesbian couples in this country whose marriage is legally recognized, we urge you to support Dennis in carrying this vision to voters. He needs our moral support and his message needs our dollars." [Read entire statement]
Statement from Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich on the Issuing of Gender-Neutral Marriage Licenses in Massachusetts
May 16, 2004
I believe that equality of opportunity should be afforded to all Americans regardless of race, color, creed or sexual orientation. For that reason I support the right of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons to have the full protections and rights afforded under civil law including the right to marry the person of their choice.
There are times, after decades of struggle and perseverance in the name of equal protection, justice, and civil liberty, when a single event becomes a proud and shining moment in the history of everything we stand for and cherish as a nation.
In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the precious and powerful right to vote to women. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the principle of “separate but equal” that had denied education opportunities to millions of children because of the color of their skin. Ten years later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended generations of discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Only a year later, Congress enacted and the President signed an historic Voting Rights Act that expanded non-discrimination at the ballot box.
Tomorrow, May 17th, the 50th anniversary of the decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education that declared “separate” is not “equal,” the people of the state of Massachusetts will be part of another such moment in history when the legally empowered and legally protected right of civil marriage is finally extended to all citizens, regardless of gender. The decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to recognize and uphold this civil right is a victory not just for gay and lesbian citizens who have been denied their civil rights and relegated to second-class status. It is a victory for all Americans who believe, as I do, that the promise of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights should be upheld for everyone. [Read Press Release]
» RELATED PETITION: LGBT Civil Rights
» RELATED INFORMATION: LGBT Community for Kucinich
Grassroots vs. Astroturf
Real activism means challenging the ‘friendly’ liberal establishment and not just anti-gay conservatives on marriage.
Opinion By ROBIN TYLER (DontAmend.com)
Washington Blade Online - Friday, May 14, 2004 LINK
AS WE REACH the pivotal juncture of winning or losing equal marriage rights, we are hearing from some within our own ranks advising caution, and not aggressively pushing the battle forward from our side.
When activists in Washington, D.C., planned events for May 17, leaders from the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance suggested it was a bad idea to hold events in support of Massachusetts, and that local political leaders in Washington take no action on the issue until after the November elections.
While the religious right packs rallies in stadiums tens of thousands strong, these “leaders” in our movement advise us to stay home and watch TV coverage of the Massachusetts events and hope that things turn out well.
This fatalistic approach is dangerous. It is ironic that on May 17, 50 years to the day since Brown vs. Board of Education, that anyone could seriously suggest that groups can get their civil rights by passively relying on the courts or by waiting until after elections for politicians to do the right thing.
In Brown, the Supreme Court ordered desegregation with “deliberate speed,” but almost nothing happened on desegregation for several years, until the civil rights movement grew strong enough to force racists in government to act.
Ultimately it was the courageous lunch counter sit-ins, freedom rides and marches of mostly anonymous people that brought about desegregation in fact. By showing they were a people willing to stand up for their own rights, civil rights activists swayed public opinion and forced the government to act.
The lesson for those wanting marriage equality today should be clear: Those who want freedom must fight for it themselves and not depend on “friends” in government to win it for them.
THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT we can pay to those who have struggled and won freedom is to have the courage to continue that work. It is time that a small number of influential organizations stop trying to dominate the entire movement around the country. Most of these groups have only recently hopped on the “marriage equality” bandwagon and are using the issue to raise an enormous amount of money.
Instead of trying to silence us, they need to start demanding full marriage equality. If that means rocking Washington’s gay “liberal establishment,” which is trying to mute this activism for the sake of their political allies, so be it.
That is real activism, and we know the difference between grassroots and Astroturf.
To make matters worse, they urge us to also remain silent as politicians who claim to be on our side, such as Sen. John Kerry, dehumanize us by saying we should settle for anything less than full equality.
A half-century after Brown, Senator Kerry and others insult the memory of the civil rights movement by seriously suggesting that “separate but equal” institutions should be good enough for any group of people in our society.
I HAVE BEEN an activist for more than three decades. Throughout that time, organizations have fought against putting the marriage issue on the front burner.
At the 1987 marriage rally, at which thousands turned up, including Metropolitan Christian Church founder Rev. Troy Perry, not one other national organization endorsed the effort.
Back in the early 1990s, I was a Clinton Democrat. I made the mistake of listening to these same organizations when they asked us to focus solely on the Republican right, and to not “push Clinton” during the 1993 March on Washington.
We didn’t push him, and later I watched as the president I supported sold us out by signing into law “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and the Defense of Marriage Act.
Today we are asked to be silent, even on May 17, about the leading “light” of the Democratic Party. The same “light” who says he opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment but favors the Massachusetts marriage amendment.
Two generations ago a leading racist infamously proclaimed, “Segregation now, segregation forever!” Well, Senator Kerry, constitutional amendments, whether state or federal, are as permanent and “forever” as things get in government.
On May 17, we will remember Brown vs. Board, and also remember it was finally implemented because people took to the streets. Please join us at the marriage license bureau in the District and at cities around the country on this historic day.
Hackers target Web site of group fighting anti-gay amendment
Houstonvoice.com - Friday, May 07, 2004 link
WASHINGTON — A leading organization working to stop an anti-gay amendment to the U.S. Constitution was attacked via its Web site last week, according to group leaders. Robin Tyler, chair of www.dontamend.com, said actions by hackers forced the organization to temporarily shut down its e-mail list and apologize to its subscribers last week. On April 29, the site sent an e-mail to its list with the names of senators who support the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment, plus the names of senators who may support it, and those who do not, dontamend.com said in a statement. Someone hacked into the site’s listserve and caused the list of nearly 20,000 to switch to an open posting system, with all those on the list receiving copies of routine administrative messages, flooding spam into subscribers’ e-mail, according to Tyler. Due to the incident, about 500 subscribers canceled, the group stated. When many began to realize that the site was the victim of hackers, Tyler noted, supportive e-mails began to pour in.
For the names of senators who support the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment, plus the names of senators who may support it, and those who do not; please click here:
Contact the Senators
Ministers performed marriages at the Bronx Courthouse in New York on April 29. (Photo by Andres Duque)
MCC clergy unite to support gay marriage
Ministers solemnize illegal marriages in U.S., England
By CYD ZEIGLER JR. link
May. 07, 2004
NEW YORK — In an act of civil disobedience intended to express solidarity with two New Paltz, N.Y., ministers charged with solemnizing illegal same-sex marriages, clergy in several states and in England performed same-sex marriages last week.
The marriage ceremonies in Florida, New York, Oregon and in England were meant to call attention to what members of the Metropolitan Community Church described as unfair enforcement of the New York State civil marriage law. The statute in question states that it is a misdemeanor to perform a marriage without the benefit of a license.
Because city clerks across New York have refused to grant those licenses to same-sex couples, the solemnization of any same-sex marriage runs afoul of the law, according to the Ulster County prosecutor who brought the charges against New Paltz ministers Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey back in March.
Clergy members counter that they have been performing same-sex marriages for years, ever since MCC ministers began officiating at such unions back in 1969, according to Rev. Pat Baumgardner, pastor of MCC in New York City.
Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams’ action marked the first time clergy had ever been arrested or charged in the United States by a civil authority for solemnizing a same-sex marriage. The same charge has been brought against New Paltz Mayor Jason West, who brought a national spotlight to the tiny Hudson River town when he began marrying gay couples on Feb. 27.
Each of those charged faces up to a $500 fine and a year in jail for each of several counts of breaking the same law. This week, voters in New Paltz gave the mayor a thumbs-up when they voted for West’s hand-picked candidate in a special election for a seat on the village board. The mayor’s opponents had called the election a referendum on West’s gay-marriage stance.
New Paltz D.A. ratchets up the marriage fight
“Until the Ulster County D.A. took the ridiculous stand that he did, it was basically a matter of conscience,” Baumgardner said. “One of the reasons for our action was to point out the selective application of the law and to point out that any time the law is selectively enforced, it has to be unjust.”
Baumgardner, who has been solemnizing same-sex marriages for 20 years, herself performed one marriage April 29. Every year the MCC performs 6,000 same-sex marriages nationwide, according to Baumgardner.
Baumgardner said 20 states have laws that expressly make the solemnization of a same-sex marriage a misdemeanor; the other 30 and the District of Columbia are ambiguous on the issue, she added.
Thirty-nine states now have either a Defense of Marriage Act or a constitutional amendment banning the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said on March 19, the day after MCC performed three same-sex marriages on the steps of City Hall, that he would not prosecute anyone.
A police department spokesperson declined to comment on why police didn’t arrest clergy who performed marriages in the Bronx and previously at City Hall.
“There has been no definitive ruling from the courts on the legal and constitutional issues surrounding same-sex marriages in New York,” Morgenthau said in a statement. “The criminal courts are not the appropriate forum for the resolution of these issues; ultimately, they will be resolved in civil lawsuits.”
Baumgardner admitted that she did not believe she would be arrested or charged for performing public ceremonies in New York City. She did note that that the district attorney in Rochester, N.Y., where MCC oversaw marriages on April 29 as well, sat on a decision about whether or not to prosecute. Finally, he decided he would not.
“Police departments in major metropolitan areas have more to worry about than two people falling in love and getting married,” Bumgardner said.
MCC’s clergy plans to perform a series of public same-sex marriages.
“The religious right are not the only people who are spiritual or who go to church on Sundays,” Baumgardner said.
© 2004 The Washington Blade | A Window Media Publication
Marriage news from around the country
Compiled by D'Anne Witkowski
Originally printed 5/6/04 (Issue 1219) Pridesource.com link
WASHINGTON D.C. - DontAmend.com, one of the leading organizations working to prevent the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution, was the victim of a computer hacking attack on April 29, forcing the organization to temporarily shut down its huge email list of close to 20,000 people. The list was turned into an open posting system by the hacking, with literally 20,000 people being copied on routine administrative messages, causing a cascade of spam into subscribers' email boxes. DontAmend.com has issued an apology to its subscribers and a plea for financial support so that they can get the now secured list up and running on a new server.
Also, leaders of statewide gay rights organizations gathered in the nation's capitol for an emergency "Marriage Summit" to draft the plan to fight for marriage equality in every U.S. state and territory. The meeting was called by the Federation of Statewide Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Advocacy Organizations in Washington D.C. and took place April 22-26. Also at the meeting were experts in the areas of polling research, political campaigns, law, internet activism and more. The leaders returned to their respective states with a clear picture of what challenges to face and community resources to win marriage equality in every state. This strategy will be integrated with the existing strategies used by national GLBT organizations.
Alabama: The House Constitution and Elections Committee approved a proposed constitutional amendment to ban marriages between same-sex couples. It now goes to the full House.
California: The California Supreme Court plans to hear oral arguments May 25 on whether San Francisco's mayor had the authority to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The seven-member court said April 28 it would devote two hours to the arguments. Under court rules, the justices then must rule within 90 days.
Connecticut: State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he would determine by the middle of May whether the state's laws recognize marriages between same-sex couples performed in Massachusetts. Blumenthal's decision will be in response to a letter Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sent to leaders in 49 states questioning if laws in any state permitted gay couples to marry and stating that out-of-state gay couples will be prohibited from marrying in Massachusetts unless the laws in their home state permit the marriages. Connecticut's marriage laws have not been analyzed since 1980, when the attorney general's office ruled that state statutes did not specifically define marriage.
Kansas: Senators on May 2 adopted a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to ban marriage between same-sex couples, leaving House passage as the only remaining obstacle to putting the measure on the November ballot. The vote was 27-13, exactly the two-thirds majority required for approval of a proposed constitutional change. The House planed to vote Monday, May 3 at press time. The proposed addition to the Kansas Constitution states that Kansas solely recognizes marriage between one man and one woman and denies the benefits of marriage to other domestic arrangements like civil unions.
Maine: Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill April 28 creating domestic partnerships in Maine. The new law, which takes effect in 90 days, extends domestic partnership rights to couples who live together under long-term arrangements and gives them the same inheritance rights as a spouse when a married partner dies without a will.
Massachusetts: Lawyers for the city of Boston are exploring whether it is legally possible to ignore a directive from Republican Gov. Mitt Romney to review residency documents before granting marriage licenses to gay couples. Romney wants cities and towns to enforce a 1913 law that says out-of-state couples cannot be married in Massachusetts if their marriages would not be recognized in their home state. The move is meant to head off a flood of out-of-state people applying for marriage licenses in Massachusetts when marriage for same-sex couples becomes legal in the state on May 17. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino is considering ignoring the directive, if at all legally possible. Because the city has never asked heterosexual couples for proof of residency, asking homosexual couples for it may amount to discrimination and open the city to lawsuits, Menino said.
Meanwhile, Romney sent a letter to leaders of the 49 other states telling them out-of-state gay couples will be barred from getting married in Massachusetts unless officials in those states inform him that marriages between same-sex couples are permitted under their laws.
Also, thirteen state legislators asked the state's highest court April 27 to reverse its Nov. decision legalizing marriage for gays, a ruling that the same court reaffirmed in February. The lawmakers, represented by the American Center for Law & Justice which was founded by anti-gay televangelist Pat Robertson, argue that the Supreme Judicial Court lacked jurisdiction in the case under the state Constitution. Instead, they said, it is the Legislature and governor who are entitled to determine marriage laws.
New Hampshire: The House voted 213-140 April 29 to block recognition of marriages between same-sex couples. The bill now goes back to the Senate for review. The Senate passed a similar version of the bill last month. The House version also would establish a committee to look at what laws would need to be changed to make civil unions legal in the state.
New Jersey: On July 1 a domestic partnership law takes effect, giving gay couples the right to make medical decisions for each other and to file joint state tax returns. Although it's not even close to the rights married couples get, civil rights groups have praised New Jersey's leaders as progressive and fair-minded in passing the law. Partnerships between same-sex couples granted in other states will be honored by New Jersey. Couples will be able to register for partnership status at any municipal office in the state. To end a partnership, a divorce-like proceeding in Superior Court is required.
New York: A judge denied New Paltz Mayor Jason West's motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit seeking to bar him from performing marriages for same-sex couples after he performed a series of the weddings on Feb. 27. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for May 17. West also faces criminal charges for officiating at the weddings.
Ohio: Petitioners got the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot that would require Ohio and local governments to recognize marriage as only a union between a man and a woman, the secretary of state's office said. The petitioners must submit 322,899 valid signatures of registered voters - 10 percent of the total vote in the 2002 election for governor - to the Secretary of State by Aug. 4 to qualify for the November ballot.
Tennessee: A constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman is headed toward the House floor for a vote. With no discussion, the bill was approved on a voice vote April 27 by the House Finance Committee. Even if the bill is approved this year by the House and Senate, it would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the next two-year General Assembly before it could go before the voters.
Washington: About 20,000 people filled a Seattle ball park for a "Mayday for Marriage" anti-gay marriage rally May 1 organized by conservative Christian churches around the state, according to the event's marketing director. Police offered no estimate. The event featured James Dobson founder of the notoriously anti-gay group Focus on the Family. Between 2,500 and 3,000 gay-rights protesters waved signs and chanted, "Bigots go home!" Arrivals had to walk between the counter-protesters to enter the stadium.
Boston Weighs Marrying All Gay Couples Who Apply
by Margo Williams365Gay.com Newscenter - <link to story>Boston BureauPosted: May 3, 2004 12:01 am. ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) The city of Boston may refuse to adhere to a directive from Governor Mitt Romney that only gay couples who reside in Massachusetts can be issued marriage licenses.
Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the state this month, and Romney a foe of gay marriage has told clerks across the state that a 1913 law says that they cannot issue licenses to out-of-state couples if their marriages would be "void" in the couples' home states. (story)
The law was passed to prevent out-of-state interracial couples from marrying before laws stopping weddings between blacks and whites was stuck down by the Supreme Court. The law has remained on the Massachusetts books and has been seldom used.
Last week the Republican governor sent letters to all other governors and attorneys general telling them that unless they specify same-sex couples can marry in their states those couples cannot marry in Massachusetts. (story)
But. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a Democrat who supports gay marriage, is said to be considering ignoring the governor. Officials in the mayor's office tell the Boston Globe that Menino has asked for as legal opinion.
If the city lawyers find they can legally justify disregarding the governor's directive Boston's clerk will be told to issue marriage licenses to any same-sex couple who applies.
The mayor has already begun preparations for an expected onslaught of gay and lesbians couples May 17, the first day same-sex couples can apply for licenses under the state Supreme Court ruling that legalized by marriage.
The Globe reports that an information booth will be set up outside city hall where couples will be given numbers to mark the order in which they'll be served. Inside the building about 20 city workers wearing "welcome" badges will be available at City Hall to answer questions.
In addition, the city is printing 3,000 full-color brochures, which will include a letter of congratulation from Menino and instructions on how to obtain marriage licenses. The brochures will contain information on how to get the three-day waiting period for a marriage license waived by a probate court judge, on finding justices of the peace to perform weddings, and on getting to city and town halls in Boston's suburbs if Boston finds itself backed up.
If the mayor goes ahead and ignores the governor it is expected Romney will go to court to force the city to adhere to the 1913 statute. But, by the time the case could be heard thousands of out-of-state couples could already be married.
Other communities in the state, including Provincetown are watching developments in Boston. Provincetown, one of the nation's most popular gay tourist spot was counting on extra business generated by weddings of out-of-staters.
©365Gay.com® 2004
Thousands Turn Out To Rally For And Against Gay Marriage
From KiroTV.- May 1, 2004
SEATTLE -- There's a huge rally going on at Safeco Fieldtoday. The "Mayday for Marriage" event opposing gay marriage has drawn about 20-thousand to 25-thousand people.
But hundreds of pro-gay protesters have been trying to shout down the speakers from the stands. Before the event started, about 15-hundred counter-protesters waved signs and chanted "Bigots go home!" at those arriving. A 60-piece marching band played outside the stadium.
James Dobson, founder of the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family, told the crowd this is the place to take a stand. He says if gay marriage happens, the culture war is over and everything associated with it is lost.
The event was sponsored by conservative Christian churches.
Protestors shout support for gay marriage to those whoare entering the ''Mayday for Marriage'' rally.
Opponents of gay marriage face chanting protesters
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/171587_rally.html
Saturday, May 1, 2004
By JIM COUR
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Hundreds of pro-gay protesters tried to shout down religious leaders speaking against gay marriage to a crowd of thousands gathered at Seattle's baseball stadium Saturday.
Protesters gathered in the stands after chanting and waving signs at participants as they arrived for the rally at Safeco Field.
About 20,000 to 25,000 people attended the "Mayday for Marriage" worship service and rally, organized by conservative Christian churches around the state in support of traditional marriage.
"This is a place where we're taking a stand," James Dobson, founder of the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family, told the crowd. "If this (gay marriage) happens, the culture war is over and everything associated with it is lost."
As participants arrived in busloads, they had to walk between sign-carrying protesters lining the sidewalk outside the stadium in this liberal city.
Police estimated 1,500 gay rights protesters showed up outside the stadium, waving signs and chanting, "Bigots go home!" as they marched back and forth out front. A 60-piece marching band performed and passing cars honked in support.
The gay-rights supporters exchanged views with rally participants as police officers worked to control the crowd.
The event was slated as a rally and worship service including music and a choir.
"We believe marriage was designed for a man and a woman," said Bill Hanford, 46, of Redmond. "We think the biblical concept of marriage is important and people should take a stand on that side of the argument as well as the one that's in the media right now."
Among the protesters was Jeffrey Steinberg, 52, carrying a sign that said, "Religious bigots love lies, not God! Bear your false witness elsewhere."
"Unfortunately religion has often been a tool for hatred," he said.
"I read the Bible and pray a lot. Christ accepted prostitutes and tax collectors who were at that time pretty low on the totem pole," Steinberg said. "He never denounced homosexuality in any of the gospels."
Morningstar McKay, 31, came from Everett with her husband and daughter to join the pro-gay rights protests.
"It just makes me really sad because it's really come down to a separation between church and state," she said. "If you fall in love with somebody you should be able to marry them no matter the circumstances."
The Rev. Joseph Fuiten, pastor of the 5,000-member Cedar Park Assembly of God church in suburban Bothell, said local pastors wanted to publicize the importance of traditional marriage.
Fuiten said Saturday's rally was planned over six weeks and churches in the state paid the Seattle Mariners $120,000 to rent the baseball stadium.
The Mariners, who operate the publicly owned ballpark, have taken no position on the gay marriage issue, said Rebecca Hale, public information director for the team.
"This is a facility that was constructed primarily with public funds," Hale said. "We, as operators of the facility, have an obligation to make it available to members of the community for public gatherings. No matter what we think of their political beliefs."
Paul Hollie, a spokesman for Safeco Insurance, said the company does not operate the ballpark. But he said the company has received several comments from employees, clients and others opposed to the rally, calling on the company to intervene to stop it.
"We're not responsible for any of the events," he said.
© 1998-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Big Rally Vs. Same-Sex Marriage
SEATTLE, May 1, 2004
Hundreds of pro-gay protesters tried to shout down religious leaders speaking against same-sex marriage to a crowd of thousands gathered at Seattle's baseball stadium Saturday.
Protesters gathered in the stands after chanting and waving signs at participants as they arrived for the rally at Safeco Field.
Check Out Photos Of Pat Bumgardner's Marriage Action April 29th, 2004
Rev. Pat Bumgardner (center, in white clergy robe) surrounded by press and media on steps of Bronx Courthouse (April 29, 2004)
You can check out...
...more than 70 photos of today's MCC marriage action on the steps of the Bronx Courthouse at http://public.fotki.com/MANOaMANO/bronx_courthouse/
You can view photos individually -- or click on the "Slide Show" to run through all the photos.
The photo above shows Rev. Pat Bumgardner, senior pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of New York City, surrounded by TV and newspaper camers during today's event.
Our special thanks to Andre Duque of "Mano a Mano" for taking and posting today's photos.
You are free to reproduce and distribute these photos. Please include the notation: "Photo by Andrew Duque" if you republish these photos.
DontAmend.com
Talking Points for April 15 , Tax Day Protests
In this age of sound bites, it is important to keep our message clear and short, or else it gets ignored. In doing a "long" 90 second interview, you generally have the opportunity to make only one, or at most two points. We suggest the following bullet points guide you in talking to the media and our supporters.
1.) We are here to highlight the extra pain we feel on tax day when the federal government forces us to enter into a legal fiction of being single - when we are actually longtime together couples. In reality, our lives are actually completely intertwined - just like any other married couple. We own our homes, bank accounts and stocks together. We are raising children as a family, and yet we must divvy all that up as if we are single persons -- when we aren't. It is humiliating and a lie and yet the government gives us no other option. I would challenge married heterosexual couples -- together 20 years -- to try to untangle their lives and file as "single" people.
2.) We do not get tax exemptions for our families. For example, we have to pay income taxes for our domestic partners, married couple's health benefits are not taxed as income. We have to pay transfer taxes when we add our domestic partners to our house deeds, married couples are exempt.
3.) Our families are treated differently under the law, when in reality, our families are organized in the same way as straight married couples are living, but without any of the legal obligations or benefits. According to the US Census data, 33% of gay male couples and 42% of lesbian couples are raising children compared with 51% of straight couples raising children. We all love our children and want to protect them just the same as any family would -- yet the government refuses our children and our families the same legal protections and tax advantages provided children of straight couples and that is wrong.
4.) Sometimes we pay more in taxes, some times we pay less, depending on the individual circumstances, what we are asking for is to be treated equally. Give us the marriage tax penalty.
5.) We are protesting on Tax Day because the government takes our tax money but then refuses to treat us as equals before the law. The government should not take tax money from all and then turn around and deny important rights to whole groups of people. It is an insult that politicians of either party could think it's perfectly fine to take tax money from their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered constituents and then not treat us equally. The central issue is equality or discrimination. Taking our tax money just pours salt on the wound of discrimination.
6.) The ban on same-sex marriage means that gay people are denied tax benefits that other couples take for granted. For example, older couples are denied Social Security survivor's benefits if one partner dies. The surviving partner is also denied automatic inheritance rights, potentially leaving him or her penniless.
7.) We demand nothing less than full and equal marriage rights. Some have suggested that we settle for "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships," but both of these measures fall far short of full equality. It is absurd in principle to attempt to erect a "separate but equal" marriage-like institution and segregate gays into it. Few would seriously suggest that women, or any racial or religious minority accept less than full legal equality; it is insulting that some think that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered people would or should settle for anything less. As a practical matter, given that thousands of federal and state laws use the word "marriage" to confer rights and responsibilities to couples, it would be a Herculean task to retrofit those thousands of laws to accommodate a "separate but equal" institution for gays, rather than simply grant equal access to the institution of marriage.
Some ways to handle hostile or "loaded" questions:
The attack: "If gays get the right to marry, what's next, polygamy? Do you favor polygamy?"
An answer: "No one is seriously proposing legalizing polygamy. This is a red herring used by the religious right to scare people away from seriously considering support for equal marriage rights. The fact of the matter is that countries like Holland and Canada have instituted equal marriage rights without the sky falling in. If anything, most measures of family dysfunction, such as domestic violence and teenage pregnancy, are far worse in the United States than in most other industrialized countries. Equal marriage rights is about treating ALL loving adult couples with the dignity and respect they deserve."
The attack: "Some would say allowing gay marriage cheapens the institution of marriage."
An answer: "To say our association with an institution 'cheapens it' is an example of the bigotry we are protesting. For example, if anyone were to say that the association of a racial or religious group with an institution of high learning 'cheapened' that institution, they would rightly be called a bigot."
The attack: "Gay marriage threatens heterosexual marriage."
An answer: "How? For all the times the religious right has thrown out this charge they've never been able to demonstrate how our marriages threaten theirs. Canada and European countries have instituted equal marriage rights without the sky falling in. If one opposes 'gay marriage,' the solution is very simple: don't have one. But don't think you have the right to prevent others from exercising the human right to marry whom we choose."
The attack: "Some would say it is insulting to compare gay rights with civil rights for African Americans. African Americans can't change the color of their skin."
An answer: "I won't get into a whole debate about whether or not people can change their sexual orientations, even though most gay people feel they were born that way. Whether or not one can 'change' is irrelevant. Jews, Muslims and other religious minorities can change their religions, yet few would say that discrimination against religious minorities is acceptable."
The attack: "African Americans fought and died for civil rights. How dare you compare your struggle to theirs."
An answer: "Many African American civil rights leaders, like Coretta Scott King and John L. Lewis, have said that equal access to marriage for same sex couples is an equal rights battle. The religious right, with its Bob Jones Universities and use of the Bible to justify segregation a generation ago, is attempting to use sections of the civil rights community as a cover for their anti-gay hate. The fact is that there are many parallels and some differences between the two struggles. Most fundamentally, both pose the same basic question: are you in favor or equality or discrimination? How you answer that question says a lot about your character, and whether or not you are going to be a consistent supporter of justice. Many people died so that African Americans could win increased equality, and only a fool would discount the violence they have faced. Harvey Milk and Matthew Shepard are just the most famous of those killed by anti-gay hate, and their lives should not be discounted either. We can either strive for legal equality for all, or we can fall prey to divisive 'divide and conquer' ploys, where we're foolish enough to allow ourselves to be used as tools to attack the rights of others, with the result that ALL lose out in the end."
There are any number of other points that could be made. If you have suggestions, by all means please email them to us!
Robin Tyler
National Co-Chair - DontAmend.com
RTDontAmend@aol.com
Andy Thayer
National Action Coordinator - DontAmend.com
ATDontAmend@aol.com
DontAmend.com Executive Director Denied Marriage License, Lawsuit Announced
The Rev. Troy Perry, second from left, talks about trying to have California recognize his Canadian marriage to his life partner Phillip De Blieck, left, as attorney Gloria Allred, center, and Robin Tyler and her life partner Diane Olson, right, listen outside the Beverly Hills, Calif. courthouse, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004. The two same-sex couples had sought marriage licenses but were denied because California law allows only a single man and a single woman to marry. Allred announced a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Attorney Gloria Allred, right, talks with Diane Olson, left foreground, and her life partner, Robin Tyler, while Phillip De Blieck, left rear, and his partner, the Rev. Troy Perry, follow as they leave the Beverly Hills, Calif., courthouse Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004. The two same-sex couples had sought marriage licenses but were denied because California law allows only a single man and a single woman to marry. Allred announced a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
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Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston