"And there’s one last pillar of our leadership, and that’s the example of our values.
... That’s why we defend free
speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the
persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. We do these things not only
because they are the right thing to do, but because ultimately they will
make us safer."...
President Barack Obama, January 20, 2015.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Orlando Mayor Celebrates Florida Same-Sex Marriage
"January 6 was a historic day for our
City and our State as we became the 36th state (plus D.C.) to provide
marriage equality for all. I was honored to host a wedding ceremony
for 44 couples at Orlando City Hall.
The lifting of the ban on same-sex
marriage in our State is advancing civil rights and equal treatment
for all of Orlando’s residents and provides more than 1,200 legal
and economic protections for same-sex families.
Because we have and continue to embrace
diversity, Orlando is at the forefront for attracting businesses,
talent and people from across the globe. I am proud that Orlando is a
welcoming, multi-cultural community that people from across the
country and globe want to call home.
I hope you will join me in
congratulating the couples who celebrated their wedding Tuesday."
Orlando, Florida Mayor Buddy Dyer, January 6, 2015.
Orlando, Florida Mayor Buddy Dyer, January 6, 2015.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Senators Laud Montana Decision
"I applaud today's ruling. It aligns our laws with our values and is a big step forward for our state. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry denies them happiness and equal protection under the law."
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (MT), November 19, 2014.
"Throughout my 36 years of service in the military, as Lt. Governor, and now as U.S. Senator, I've been proud to fight for our freedoms. Today’s overdue court ruling reflects our Montana values of individual freedom, fairness and equality. I believe every Montanan - our sons, daughters, friends and family - should live free of discrimination."
U.S. Senator John Walsh (MT), November 19, 2014.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester (MT), November 19, 2014.
"Throughout my 36 years of service in the military, as Lt. Governor, and now as U.S. Senator, I've been proud to fight for our freedoms. Today’s overdue court ruling reflects our Montana values of individual freedom, fairness and equality. I believe every Montanan - our sons, daughters, friends and family - should live free of discrimination."
U.S. Senator John Walsh (MT), November 19, 2014.
Gov Lauds Montana Decision
“Today’s decision ensures we are closer to fulfilling our promise of freedom, dignity, and equality for all Montanans. It is a day to celebrate our progress, while recognizing the qualities that bind us as Montanans: a desire to make a good life for ourselves and our families, while providing greater opportunities to the next generation.
I have instructed my administration to quickly take all appropriate steps to ensure that we are recognizing and affording the same rights and responsibilities to legally married same-sex couples that all married Montanans have long enjoyed.” Montana Governor Steve Bullock, November 19, 2014.
I have instructed my administration to quickly take all appropriate steps to ensure that we are recognizing and affording the same rights and responsibilities to legally married same-sex couples that all married Montanans have long enjoyed.” Montana Governor Steve Bullock, November 19, 2014.
Federal Court Strikes Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriage in Montana
... "These families want for their children what all families in Montana want. They want to provide a safe and loving home in which their children have the chance to explore the world in which they live. They want their children to have the chance to discover their place in this world. And they want their children to have the chance to fulfill their highest dreams. These families, like all of us, want their children to adventure into the world without fear of violence; to achieve all that their talent and perseverance allows without fear of discrimination; and to love themselves so that they can love others. No family wants to deprive its precious children of the chance to marry the loves of their lives. Montana no longer can deprive Plaintiffs and other same-sex couples of the chance to marry their loves...
... the United States Constitution exists to protect disfavored minorities from the will of the majority. Equal protection of the laws will not be achieved through “indiscriminate imposition of inequalities.” Romer, 517 U.S. at 633. Our constitutional tradition does not permit laws to single out a certain class of citizens for “disfavored legal status.” Romer, 517 U.S. at 633.
Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage impose a “disfavored legal status” on same-sex couples. The time has come for Montana to follow all the other states within the Ninth Circuit and recognize that laws that ban same-sex marriage violate the constitutional right of same-sex couples to equal protection of the laws. Today Montana becomes the thirty-fourth state to permit same-sex marriage.
... The Court hereby DECLARES that Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage, including Article XIII, section 7 of the Montana Constitution, and Montana Code Annotated section 40-1-103 and section 40-1-401, violate Plaintiffs’ rights to equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS the State of Montana and its officers, employees, agents, and political subdivisions from enforcing Article XIII, section 7 of the Montana Constitution, Montana Code Annotated section 40-1-103 and section 40-1-401, and any other laws or regulations, to the extent that they prohibit otherwise qualified same-sex couples from marrying in Montana, and to the extent that they do not recognize same-sex marriages validly contracted outside Montana. This injunction shall take effect immediately."
Judge Brian Morris, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division, November 19, 2014.
click here to read entire decision (not quite primary source)
... the United States Constitution exists to protect disfavored minorities from the will of the majority. Equal protection of the laws will not be achieved through “indiscriminate imposition of inequalities.” Romer, 517 U.S. at 633. Our constitutional tradition does not permit laws to single out a certain class of citizens for “disfavored legal status.” Romer, 517 U.S. at 633.
Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage impose a “disfavored legal status” on same-sex couples. The time has come for Montana to follow all the other states within the Ninth Circuit and recognize that laws that ban same-sex marriage violate the constitutional right of same-sex couples to equal protection of the laws. Today Montana becomes the thirty-fourth state to permit same-sex marriage.
... The Court hereby DECLARES that Montana’s laws that ban same-sex marriage, including Article XIII, section 7 of the Montana Constitution, and Montana Code Annotated section 40-1-103 and section 40-1-401, violate Plaintiffs’ rights to equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS the State of Montana and its officers, employees, agents, and political subdivisions from enforcing Article XIII, section 7 of the Montana Constitution, Montana Code Annotated section 40-1-103 and section 40-1-401, and any other laws or regulations, to the extent that they prohibit otherwise qualified same-sex couples from marrying in Montana, and to the extent that they do not recognize same-sex marriages validly contracted outside Montana. This injunction shall take effect immediately."
Judge Brian Morris, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, Great Falls Division, November 19, 2014.
click here to read entire decision (not quite primary source)
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Federal Court Strikes Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriage in South Carolina
... “The Bostic court... [observed] that the “very purpose of the Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”
... The Court finds that Bostic controls the disposition of the issues before this Court and establishes, without question, the right of Plaintiffs to marry as same sex partners...”
Judge Richard Mark Gergel, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, November 12, 2014.
click here to read entire decision (not quite primary source)
... The Court finds that Bostic controls the disposition of the issues before this Court and establishes, without question, the right of Plaintiffs to marry as same sex partners...”
Judge Richard Mark Gergel, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, November 12, 2014.
click here to read entire decision (not quite primary source)
Monday, October 13, 2014
Federal Court Strikes Down Ban on Same-Sex Marriage in Alaska
“... The Court finds that Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage and refusal to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully entered in other states is unconstitutional as a deprivation of basic due process and equal protection principles under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution...
Alaska’s laws prohibiting same-sex marriage “usurp, disregard, and disrespect” the fundamental right of all homosexuals to choose who to marry; a right of liberty, privacy, and association freely given to heterosexuals...
...The basic principle is that “fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”...
...There is no sensible reason to deny same-sex families the same advantages and benefits already given to opposite-sex couples.
In sum, any relationship between Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws and the government interests asserted by Defendants is either nonexistent or purely speculative. Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws are a prime example of how “the varying treatment of different groups or persons is so unrelated to the achievement of any combination of legitimate purposes that we can only conclude that the legislature’s actions were irrational.” Refusing the rights and responsibilities afforded by legal marriage sends the public a government-sponsored message that same-sex couples and their familial relationships do not warrant the status, benefits, and dignity given to couples of the opposite sex. This Court finds that Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment because no state interest provides “exceedingly persuasive justification” for the significant infringement of rights that they inflict upon homosexual individuals.
CONCLUSION
With this ruling, the Court hereby DECLARES that Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws are unconstitutional for violating the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court IMMEDIATELY ENJOINS the state of Alaska, including state officers, personnel, agents, government divisions, and other political entities, from enforcing Alaska Constitution Article 1,
Section 25 and Alaska Statute Sections 25.05.011 and 25.05.013 to the extent that the laws prohibit otherwise qualified same-sex couples from marriage and refusing to recognize lawful same-sex marriages entered in other states. IT IS SO ORDERED."
Judge Timothy M. Burgess, U.S. District Court, District of Alaska, October 12, 2014.
click here to read entire decision
Alaska’s laws prohibiting same-sex marriage “usurp, disregard, and disrespect” the fundamental right of all homosexuals to choose who to marry; a right of liberty, privacy, and association freely given to heterosexuals...
...The basic principle is that “fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”...
...There is no sensible reason to deny same-sex families the same advantages and benefits already given to opposite-sex couples.
In sum, any relationship between Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws and the government interests asserted by Defendants is either nonexistent or purely speculative. Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws are a prime example of how “the varying treatment of different groups or persons is so unrelated to the achievement of any combination of legitimate purposes that we can only conclude that the legislature’s actions were irrational.” Refusing the rights and responsibilities afforded by legal marriage sends the public a government-sponsored message that same-sex couples and their familial relationships do not warrant the status, benefits, and dignity given to couples of the opposite sex. This Court finds that Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws violate the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment because no state interest provides “exceedingly persuasive justification” for the significant infringement of rights that they inflict upon homosexual individuals.
CONCLUSION
With this ruling, the Court hereby DECLARES that Alaska’s same-sex marriage laws are unconstitutional for violating the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court IMMEDIATELY ENJOINS the state of Alaska, including state officers, personnel, agents, government divisions, and other political entities, from enforcing Alaska Constitution Article 1,
Section 25 and Alaska Statute Sections 25.05.011 and 25.05.013 to the extent that the laws prohibit otherwise qualified same-sex couples from marriage and refusing to recognize lawful same-sex marriages entered in other states. IT IS SO ORDERED."
Judge Timothy M. Burgess, U.S. District Court, District of Alaska, October 12, 2014.
click here to read entire decision
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