Posts Tagged Marriage
Prop 8 and Families: Perspectives of the children of gay & lesbian parents
Palo Alto High School student, Amanda Young, has published a great article in her school magazine about the perspectives of several teen children of lesbian and gay parents on the inability of their parents to marry. Additionally, the article does not link to it, but here is an excellent study by the American Psychological Association of effects of anti-equal marriage amendments on the children of gay and lesbian headed families.
Redefining Family by Amanda Young of Verde Magazine
On March 5, 2009 at 9 a.m., while Paly junior Josh Lay will sit in his Physics 1 class listening to a lecture on sound waves, electricity, or magnetism, a discussion that could change his life will have commenced in the state Supreme Court’s chambers in San Francisco. Josh will sit restlessly in his seat, anxiously watching the clock tick and imagining the court hearing. Questions will race through his head: What are the witnesses saying? How long will it take for the jury to make their decision? Will his family be OK?
“I’ll be wondering the whole time what’s going on in the courtroom,” Josh says. “I’ll be thinking about it constantly, hoping my mothers’ marriage isn’t nullified.”
Across the school in his World History class, Josh’s brother Paly freshman Jeremy Lay will also be worrying about the state of his family.
“Maybe I’ll get to watch the hearing on TV, because Mr. Boloños shows us things like that,” Jeremy says. “I’ll be hoping for the best.”
On March 5, 2009, the state Supreme Court will be hearing arguments on the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the measure that passed last November, banning marriages between same-sex couples. The court will also decide whether to nullify the same-sex marriages performed from June to November, numbering about 18,000, according to the William Institute at UCLA. “
h/t Bilerico Project
February 23, 2009
POLL RESULTS: Most Rhode Islanders Favor Same-Sex Marriage
by Joe Siegel, EDGE New England Editor
The majority of Rhode Islanders continue to support marriage equality for same-sex couples, according to the results of a poll commissioned by Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI). The results were announced at a Thursday afternoon press conference held in the rotunda at the Statehouse in Providence.
Nearly half of the state’s voters (49 percent) favor marriage rights for same-sex couples, compared to 37 percent who oppose marriage equality. This support has remained stable since 2006 when voters backed same-sex marriage 45 percent to 39 percent. Political candidates for the state legislature have little to fear regarding their position on the issue. Only 26 percent of the poll’s respondents said a candidate’s stance on same-sex marriage is very important in their choice of candidate.
State legislators and clergy spoke in support for marriage equality. Rev. Gene Dyszlewski, the Pastor of Riverside Congregational United Church of Christ, serves as the chairperson of the Rhode Island Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality, an organization of over 100 religious leaders in the state who have signed a declaration affirming that same-sex marriage is in God’s plan for humanity.
“I believe that same-sex marriage is God’s will,” said Dyszlewski. “As religious leaders, we are here to remind the legislators that for them this is not a religious issue. It is improper, for those who hold public office, to impose their religious view on anyone or to impose any one religious view on everyone. It is the duty of those who hold public office to remain theologically neutral in deciding civil rights, relationships and responsibilities.”
State Senator Joshua Miller (D-Cranston), a co-sponsor of marriage equality legislation, does not believe civil unions are the answer to providing basic rights for same-gender couples. “Anything less than full marriage equality is discrimination,” Miller noted. “This is about your friends, neighbors, and relatives being discriminated against.”
State Rep. Art Handy (D-Cranston) said granting same-sex couples the right to marry was “a matter of fairness”. Handy said he had witnessed an increase in support for marriage equality legislation among his colleagues.
Richard Corso appeared alongside his partner Don Laliberte. The couple, who own a house in Providence, have been together for nine years. “Our relationship is no different than any other couple’s,” Corso said. “However we are denied the recognition heterosexual couples can take for granted. This is not just about the more than one thousand legal rights afforded to married couples, but denied to same sex couples. It is also about the validity of the love we share with each other, and the family we have formed. Our love is real. Our relationship is valid.”
A rally dubbed “Open Your Heart to Equality” was held following the press conference, and featured representatives from several GLBT organizations speaking in support of marriage equality.
NOTE: Rep. Art Handy has sponsored marriage equality legislation for SEVEN YEARS. Send him and Sen. Josh Miller your thanks by clicking above.
1 comment February 13, 2009
Supreme Court of Nepal Pushes Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage
The Hindustan Times is reporting that the Supreme Court of Nepal is pushing the government towards recognition of same-sex couples:
the Supreme Court on Monday delivered full judgement regarding a ground-breaking verdict it had announced last year, recognising sexual minorities, who were among the most oppressed in conservative, patriarchal Nepali society, as being born such and entitled to all the rights and remedies all other Nepali citizens enjoyed.
Now, following up on the judgement, the top court has asked the Maoist government to form a seven-member committee to study same sex partnership/marriage acts in other countries and recommend a similar act to the Nepal government.
1 comment November 21, 2008
Massachusetts and Marriage 5 Years Later
The Boston Globe has an article out this week about the state of views on marriage five years after marriage equality became a reality. It’s a good read and there are some very interesting details throughout, but two paragraphs in particular caught my attention.
“The Legislature’s July 31 decision to repeal a 1913 law banning out-of-state couples from tying the knot here appears to have resulted in an increase of weddings among couples from Rhode Island and New York, which recognize same-sex marriages officiated in other states. Betsy Wall, executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, said that in Provincetown, the number of marriage licenses for same-sex couples increased from an average of 30 per month in May through July to an average of 100 per month in August through October; Barnstable County has seen a 12.7 increase in hotel revenue between August 2007 and August 2008.”
We often talk about the best way to quantify the economic impact to Rhode Island by not having marriage equality. I think the excerpt above sums some of that up… how many of those revenue dollars are Rhode Islanders spending outside the state at a time when we could us all the revenue we can get.
“…there are signs that the number of people opposed to same-sex marriage is waning in Massachusetts. In February 2004, a survey of 400 voters found that 42 percent were in favor of same-sex marriage and 44 percent opposed it. In a similar survey completed this August, approval sprang to 59 percent and opposition sank to 37 percent, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, which conducted the polls.”
Public opinion is changing and the most effective tool for that to happen is for people to see and know those affected.
1 comment November 20, 2008
New No on Prop 8 Commercial Airs
California’s No on 8 released their first TV ad in late September with Sam and Julia Thoron offering a message about their daughter, whose right to marry will be eliminated if Prop 8 passes. For more information on the No on 8 campaign check out their website.
October 1, 2008
Oral Arguments in Divorce Case
I had the opportunity this morning to attend the oral arguments in the Chambers v. Ormiston divorce case involving two Rhode Island women, legally married in Massachusetts, who are seeking to divorce in the Rhode Island court. This was an interesting experience for my “amateur lawyer” brain – not least because, although the two attorneys are opposing counsel in the divorce proceedings themselves, they are on the same side for this part. In fact, it seems anyone who bothers with what the law really says, regardless of ideological belief, thinks that the Court is bound to grant jurisdiction on the divorce to the Family Court.
The thing that makes this a simple question is that Rhode Island has a quirky statute that lets folks get divorced in the RI courts even if their marriage is “void or voidable” – in other words, even if it is as if it doesn’t exist within the state borders. So basically, the question as to whether or not this marriage is recognized is irrelevant for access to divorce proceedings – and the Court can just say so, and open the door for the divorce to move ahead, without even looking at Rhode Island public policy on same-sex couples.
So, the million dollar question is, When can we expect a ruling? And the answer ranges from 60 days to sometime next year. We’ll see…..
October 9, 2007
