MetaFilter posts tagged with marriage and gayrights

R E S P E C T

kmz — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:22:49 -0800

Respect for Marriage Act. The House introduces legislation to repeal DOMA.

In Washington State, echoes of Proposition 8

0xFCAF — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:24:24 -0800

In September of 2004, a Superior Court in Washington state ruled the state's 1998 "Defense of Marriage" act unconstitutional, a ruling which would have allowed the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In 2006, the state Supreme Court issued in an opinion in Andersen v. King County overturning the lower court's ruling, noting "that our decision [pdf] is not based on an independent determination of what we believe the law should be." The legislature, in response, created the state-registered domestic partnership in 2007, expanding many (but not all) marriage-related rights to same-sex couples. Last month, a new law expanded the partnership to cover the remaining rights, creating an "all-but-marriage" partnership.

This year, the Washington Values Alliance has filed Referendum 71, which would put this expansion to a ballot vote. The referendum will need 120,000 signatures to make it to the ballot. WhoSigned.org intends to make these signatures searchable. Predictably, this is creating some controversy. In the meantime, Referendum 71 doesn't seem to be finding much support from likely allies. If it does make it to the ballot, voters hoping to maintain rights for same-sex couples should vote yes to uphold the law as signed. Confused? The Secretary of State's office understands.
Bonus Washington state ballot item: Initiative 957 (which never made it to the ballot) would have required couples to procreate within three years of marriage or face annulment.

Coming to a town near you... Prop 8 Protests

Glibpaxman — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:14:56 -0800

Proposition 8. Saddened? Curious? Outraged? Happy? Dont Care? On Saturday, November 15 in every state across America and even in cities worldwide there will be a day of action. The response has been so overwhelming the website organizers needed to open up a sister website to handle to traffic overload. In many cases, police are being updated repeatedly by event coordinators with exponential expectations for attendees. A taste of the action: Alabama, California, Texas, Iowa, New York, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Washington DC, International

Will the Mormon Church decide who gets married in California?

homunculus — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:30:20 -0800

Prophets and politics. "The Mormon Church works to ban gay marriage in California, even as gay people in places like Rexburg, Idaho, come out of the LDS closet."

C'mon, Get Happy! And Married!

grapefruitmoon — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:32:34 -0800

The Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to repeal a ban on out of state marriages that has been on the books since 1913. The up-shot? Out of state gay and lesbian couples may soon wed in Massachusetts. The vote goes next to governor Deval Patrick, who has already indicate that he is in favor of repealing the law. NY Times Article Guardian UK Article

Speaker for Himself

Artw — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:43:03 -0800

Orson Scott Card on gay marriage, which he says "marks the end of democracy in America". Not everyone is too happy about that.

Nothing but to keep on trying

fiercecupcake — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:18:42 -0800

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first to wed in California -- again. Martin and Lyon are best known for founding the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S. Congratulations, Del and Phyllis!

Gay Cowboys Get Screwed

schroedinger — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 23:16:12 -0800

Judge rules same-sex marriage ban in Maryland unconstitutional. The progression towards equal rights moves ever on--NPR offers further coverage and an overview of current gay rights cases in the US. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma a reminder of why this fight must be won.

kristin — Sun, 14 Jul 2002 11:29:18 -0800

Do you, Adam, take this man Steve, to be your lawfully wedded husband ... "... a panel of Ontario judges ordered Parliament to broaden its definition of marriage to include gay men and women, the first decision of its kind in Canada. " Rulings on cases in BC and Quebec to follow.

Good news for the Canadian Tourist industry, at any rate. So far the only heartbreak in all this is the utter lack of Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, and Pottery Barn stores in Canada for these people to register at.

prolific — Sun, 01 Apr 2001 06:08:45 -0800

"Going Dutch" will never mean the same again. As of today, Dutch law allows same-sex marriages. Though other countries register same-sex couples, this new Dutch law is groundbreaking as it eliminates all references to gender in laws governing marriage, adoption, inheritance, pension rights, taxes and divorce. Even the dictionary's definition of marriage will be changed.

mathowie — Tue, 25 Apr 2000 12:50:20 -0800

The same-sex domestic partnerships bill in Vermont has been approved by the state's lawmakers. "The continued denial of these legal protections, benefits and responsibilities to a small but vulnerable class of Vermont's citizens diminishes their humanity, dignity, freedom and independence." It's about damn time, hopefully other states will soon follow suit. Oh, and if you have a problem with this, listen to this and let me know why you continue to have problems with it.