Same-Sex Marriage Update

[iamkeri1]

OK This sucks. One f-ing delay after another by these people who have no skin in the game. So now I see the wisdom of placing same sex marriage on the ballot again in 2012. Peoples opinions have changed over the last couple of years and we can at least hope it will pass.

I wonder if passage of a new law would make this case moot in the opinion of the court, and result in it perhaps being thrown out? If so, then that will delay federal court exploration as to the constitutionality of any marriage law that descriminates against a specific group, since the new CA law will apply to CA only.

Thanks for the updates, Ms T.
Smooches.
Keri

[Jess]

While it may not be about same sex marriage, this certainly speaks to the journey toward equal rights and benefits for US.

taken from a news release on 11/18/2011:

Log Cabin Republicans Challenges the Federal Government to be a Competitive Employer

(Washington, DC) – Log Cabin Republicans are pleased to support legislation led by two great allies Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), that would provide domestic partner benefits to Federal employees.
“As the largest employer in the nation, the United States government should lead the way in attracting and retaining the best and brightest for public service,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director. “Right now the Federal government lags behind 22 states, the District of Columbia, and a majority of Fortune 500 companies when it comes to providing competitive personnel policies. This commonsense legislation would provide greater access to benefits for employees, and would do so without adding to the Federal debt.”
In the Senate, Log Cabin Republicans ally, and Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Ranking Member, Senator Collins introduced the legislation with Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT). In doing so, she said, “this change is both fair policy and good business practice. The federal government must compete with the private sector when it comes to attracting the most qualified, skilled, and dedicated employees. Today, health, medical, and other benefits are a major component of any competitive employment package. Indeed, private sector employers are increasingly offering these kinds of benefits as standard fare. Among Fortune 500 companies, for example, domestic partner benefits are commonplace. According to the Office of Personnel Management, nearly 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies, including some of our top federal contractors, extend employment benefits to domestic partners.”
In the House, longtime Log Cabin Republicans champion, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen introduced the legislation with Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), saying “I am pleased to co-sponsor this legislation because we are a nation that prides itself on treating everyone as equals and this bill assures that we bring those same ideals to the regulations that guide federal benefits for domestic partners of federal employees. We have taken steps to gain equal rights for all but much remains to be done. Passage of this legislation will be one step in the right direction. I am pleased that the Senate has also introduced a similar bill.”

Under the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011, same-sex domestic partners of federal employees living together in a committed relationship would be eligible for health benefits, long-term care, Family and Medical Leave, and federal retirement benefits, among others. Federal employees and their domestic partners would also be subject to the same responsibilities that apply to married federal employees and their spouses, such as anti-nepotism rules and financial disclosure requirements.
According to a 2009 UCLA Williams Institute report, over 30,000 federal workers live in committed relationships with same-sex domestic partners who are not federal employees.
Lieberman and Collins, along with Ros-Lehtinen and Baldwin have introduced the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act in the past two Congresses.
Almost 60 percent of all Fortune 500 companies, one out of three employers - and 50 percent of employers with 5,000 or more workers - provide benefits to domestic partners of their employees. Twenty states and several hundred local jurisdictions extend benefits to their employees with same-sex domestic partners.
Based on the experience of private companies and state and local governments, the Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that the total cost of benefits would average about $70 million per year through 2020. Considered as a share of the federal government's total budget for federal employees, this estimated cost would amount to only about two hundredths of a percent (0.0002).

[MsTinkerbelly]

A snip from Matt Baume...

"And in Spain, the conservative Popular Party won big in national elections. Party leaders have vowed to repeal the country’s marriage equality law, so now Spanish LGBTs are rushing to marry before lawmakers have a chance to make good on their threats."

[MsTinkerbelly]

Iowa House Speaker says gay marriage is not the focus…so far
By Adam Bink

Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen:

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said he has no plans to revisit volatile social issues like gay marriage and abortion when lawmakers convene Jan. 9. Republicans who control the House approved tough restrictions on abortion and a resolution calling for a statewide vote on banning gay marriage last time around, but the Senate‘s Democratic leader blocked debate on both measures.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, has indicated he would do the same again, and given that, Paulsen said there’s little incentive to revisit the issues.

“We’re not afraid to address those issues, but we’re also not interested in squandering Iowans’ time,” he said. “We have a job to do and we’re going to do it.”

Gronstal said he also expected to focus on economic issues and avoid drawn-out arguments of social issues.

“Iowans would prefer that we all work on things that would get 100,000 Iowans back to work,” he said. “Kraig and I have talked and he seems to be in agreement that this session is going to be much shorter than last session.”

[...]

Paulsen said he’s not interested in spending more time on issues that can’t be resolved. There have been some discussions about gun control issues, but no firm proposals have surfaced, he said.

“Right now, the primary focus of the caucus, make no mistake, is on jobs and the economy,” Paulsen said.

With the session scheduled to end April 17, both leaders said they also want to avoid the kind of gridlock that kept lawmakers in session this year until the end of June. But they conceded that’s always a challenge when each party controls one chamber.

“Some of those issues, particularly the budget issues, are difficult to work through,” Paulsen said.

Of course, we’ve seen this movie before in New Hampshire, where the new Republican majority earlier this year said its primary focus was jobs and the economy and that it had no plans to repeal marriage equality for New Hampshire residents, then moved to do just that until a broad coalition rose up against it and an overwhelming majority opposed doing so in the polls. And next year, they’re planning on doing it again. So we’ll see if Paulsen and his folks stick to their word.

[iamkeri1]

The longer it stays on the books, the longer it is likely to stay.
Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Smooches,
Keri

[MsTinkerbelly]

Details about the coverage of next week’s Perry hearings
By Jacob Combs

As you probably know, next Thursday, Dec. 8, is the date for the final two hearings in the 9th Circuit appeal of Perry v. Brown. At 2:30 pm PST, the appellate panel will hear arguments regarding the release of court recordings made during the trial, and at 3:30, the panel will hear arguments regarding the motion to vacate Judge Walker’s decision because he has been in a long-term relationship with a man. Both hearings will last one hour. There will be no further arguments on the constitutional issues of the case, and the 9th Circuit could issue a decision at any time after next Thursday.

As always, we will be providing full coverage of the court proceedings. Courage Campaign’s Rick Jacobs and Arisha Hatch will be at the James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, liveblogging the proceedings, and Adam and I will be on P8TT helping them and bringing you all the day’s news.

The 9th Circuit panel has also agreed to allow the proceedings to be videotaped for a later broadcast by C-SPAN and NBC-7 San Diego. For those living in San Francisco, the court will also be providing a live stream of the hearings in Courtroom One to other parts of the Browning Courthouse. (There will also be limited public seating in the courtroom itself). A live remote feed will also be available at the Richard H. Chambers Courthouse in Pasadena, the U.S. Pioneer Courthouse in Portland and the William K. Nakamura Courthouse in Seattle. Finally, the audio and video recordings will be available on the court’s website at or before noon of Dec. 9. For more information on watching the live video streams in San Francisco or elsewhere, check here.

If you don’t happen to live in one of those cities or can’t make it to the courthouse to watch the live stream, make sure to follow next Thursday’s proceedings at Prop8TrialTracker.com!

[MsTinkerbelly]

Maine Has The Marriage Signatures

Maine's activists have raised almost twice the required petition signatures to place marriage equality on the 2012 ballot. In 2009 the state legislature approved same-sex marriage, but that action was undone by the fascist criminals at NOM, who immediately launched their successful repeal campaign. No gay marriages ever took place in Maine.
"Not only were we incredibly successful at gathering signatures at the polls today, but volunteers all over the state met voters who have changed their minds on this issue in the last two years," said Betsy Smith, EqualityMaine Executive Director. EqualityMaine filled more than 500 volunteer shifts, from Aroostook to York County and many places in between. The enthusiasm was incredible, we had a volunteer in Gardiner who kept calling to extend her shift because she was so excited at how many people were signing," Mello said. Volunteers from around the state reported Mainers who said they'd had changes of heart since 2009. "I met a man today in Caribou, who told me he wouldn't have signed two years ago, but his daughter has now convinced him," said EqualityMaine Political Director Ali VanderZanden, who spent the day with volunteers in Aroostook County.
About 35,000 of the over 100K petitions were signed last month on Election Day.