Blog Posts for Marriage
Rhode Island Supports Marriage Equality
Today, the Rhode Island Marriage Coalition (RIMC) released the results of a new poll showing that 59 percent of Rhode Island voters support allowing same-sex couples to legally marry in the state.
We Couldn’t Agree More: ABA Backs Marriage Equality
“RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, territorial, and tribal governments to eliminate all of their legal barriers to civil marriage between two persons of the same sex who are otherwise eligible to marry.”
And with those words, the American Bar Association (ABA) today overwhelming voted to support equal marriage rights for all lesbian and gay couples— across the nation.
An Argument for Equality: Recapping DOMA Hearing Day
It was sunny and warm as we headed to the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Boston’s waterfront. Eight married couples, three widowers, and as many attorneys marched into the courtroom of Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro. The plaintiffs – all harmed by DOMA in various ways – sat in the jury box, and in an overflow courtroom next door, spectators could see them on two large flat-screen TVs.
About To Make History Again
David Wilson and Rob Compton were plaintiffs in the Goodridge case that ended marriage discrimination against same-sex couples in Massachusetts. In anticipation of the May 6 hearing in GLAD’s DOMA challenge, we asked David to reflect on the experience of watching Mary Bonauto argue in court.
Tax Day and the LGBT Party
There has been much argument about taxes lately. Yesterday, the Tea Party Express brought some of this talk to the Boston Common, just outside my office window.
I believe that paying taxes is a responsibility that comes with being an American citizen. We must share the costs of maintaining and improving our country’s infrastructure and security, and of providing the services that benefit all of us. But I also believe that the tax system must be administered fairly, and without discrimination.
So, as another tax day rolls around, I find myself reflecting on the particular relationship the LGBT community has to paying taxes.
Challenging DOMA - One Year In
A year ago, we stood in a ballroom at the Parker House in Boston, a band of LGBT lawyers, same-sex married couples, and widowers, milling around the microphones, ready to go. We were there to announce our filing of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, the first serious legal challenge in the country to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
DOMA Damages Same-Sex Families and Their Children
(Excerpted from the ABA Family Advocate)
As Justice Ginsburg famously noted in 1996, the history of our constitution is the history of extending constitutional protections to those who were once ignored or excluded from American society. [United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996)]. That journey to citizenship is well under way for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans as well.
Someone Stood Up
Sitting in the packed committee room, listening to the animated testimony from both sides of the effort to repeal the New Hampshire marriage equality law passed last June, I found myself experiencing a range of emotions. While the ignorance expressed was infuriating at times, it was inspiring to hear from the many gay couples who demonstrated immense courage by speaking publicly about their lives, in front of their legislators and neighbors. They reminded everyone that they live normal lives as couples and families; feeding the dogs and cats in the morning, making the coffee, getting the kids ready for school, and paying taxes. After the passage of the marriage equality bill, they felt that their relationships were truly validated, and finally given the “same pride, recognition and legal status” as those of straight couples.
Connecticut’s 1st Anniversary of Marriage Equality
GLAD is in Connecticut today celebrating 1 year of marriage equality!
On the ground in Maine today
Today, Mainers are deciding whether the hard-won marriage equality law passed in May and signed by Governor Baldacci will finally go into effect.
GLAD is committed to this fight, working with our coalition partners on public education efforts throughout the state to ensure all Maine families the security, protection, and respect they deserve.
Several GLAD folks are in Maine today and will posting at twitter.com/gladlaw throughout the day (you can also see the posts at www.glad.org). And check back here for photos from the ground as they come in.