Christie Vetoes Marriage Bill

Lambda Legal

"We are disappointed that Governor Christie did not do what is right for New Jersey families, but we are not discouraged," said Hayley Gorenberg, Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director. "There are many roads to justice, and Governor Christie's veto is an unfortunate detour to marriage equality for New Jersey's same-sex couples and their families. We'll continue to make our case for equality with our plaintiffs in court. We also stand by our colleagues at Garden State Equality, working to gain support for a veto override in the legislature."

GLAAD

“Today, Governor Christie abandoned a majority of New Jersey voters, as well as the officials elected to represent them, who believe that every committed couple should be able to marry the person they love,” said Mike Thompson, Acting President of GLAAD. “As public support for marriage equality continues to grow, however, we are hopeful that the state legislature will continue its work to provide loving gay and lesbian couples with the vital protections that only marriage can afford.”

Freedom To Marry

By vetoing the bill that would ensure that all loving, committed New Jersey couples and their families can share in the freedom to marry, with all its protections and meaning, Governor Christie planted his feet firmly on the wrong side of history. Fortunately, his ‘no’ will not be America’s – or New Jersey’s – last word. It is simply an obstacle we overcome as we continue on the road to liberty and justice for all. Freedom to Marry will work steadily over the next months – and throughout the entire remainder of the legislative session, as necessary – supporting local families, leaders, and advocates as they make the case to their lawmakers and win the extra handful of votes needed to override the veto and do right by all families.

BREAKING: DOJ Won't Defend Laws That Block Benefits For Gay Military Couples

Talking Points Memo has a major scoop from the DOJ.

The Obama Justice Department has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment and will no longer defend the statute in court, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday.

“The legislative record of these provisions contains no rationale for providing veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex couples of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans,” Holder wrote. “Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs identified any justifications for that distinction that would warrant treating these provisions differently from Section 3 of DOMA.”

Obviously this latest move will cause an immediate firestorm of condemnation and wailing from the enemies of civil equality. HURRAY!

Garden State Equality On Chris Christie

Garden State Equality chair Steven Goldstein has issued a statement about Gov. Chris Christie and his impending veto of the marriage equality bill. An excerpt:

As I have said before, where we agree with them on the issues, Governor Christie and his Administration have treated us with warmth and responsiveness. Yes is yes, no is no, and we’ll get back to you means they get back to you faster than you thought, usually with invaluable help.

And that’s precisely why Governor Christie’s veto of the marriage equality bill will hurt so badly. We’re not naïve – we’ve always known he would veto the bill, and frankly, I was always a bit puzzled by the silly tea-leaf reading and phantasmagoric hopes that perhaps the Governor would look deep inside his heart and let the bill become law. Ridiculous. I know this Governor, and when he says he’ll do something, take him at his word, for better and here for worse.

It’s why I chose not to waste a breath in pleading with the Governor not to veto – and have put Garden State Equality immediately to work to achieve an override. The great news is, we have until the end of the legislative session, in January 2014, to do it.

That doesn’t obviate the pain of the Governor’s veto. Because I do know him, I also know he is not some anti-LGBT nut. He is no Rick Santorum. Frankly, I don’t think Chris Christie has an anti-gay bone in his body, however much I cannot say the same about his impending veto. His veto will be a brutally anti-gay act, pure and simple.

Read the full statement.

Civil Unions Introduced In West Virginia

It likely won't get anywhere, but a brave rep in West Virginia introduced a civil unions bill yesterday.

Delegate John Doyle says he introduced the bill Thursday to start a conversation about family equality. The Jefferson County Democrat says that gay and lesbian couples should have the same safety net to deal with the death of a parent or the loss of a job as married couples. Fairness WV, which advocates on behalf of the gay, lesbian and transgender community, says this is the first time a civil union bill has been introduced in the West Virginia Legislature.

LIVE: Maryland House Marriage Vote

UPDATE: Well, bother. The chair gaveled in the proceedings just long enough to delay the vote until tomorrow morning. False alarm, everybody. Now we get to worry about what evil amendments will be pitched during tomorrow morning's committee meetings.

EARLIER: It's a busy day for equality. At any moment from this writing the Maryland House of Delgates is set to vote on its marriage equality bill. Listen live here. Click "current House proceedings."

NJ Assembly PASSES Marriage Bill

UPDATE: By a vote of 41-33 the New Jersey Assembly has approved its marriage equality bill. That's far below the necessary 54 votes for an override of Gov. Christie's promised veto. Nevertheless, we WON and New Jersey can now be added to the lengthening list of states with legislatively approved marriage equality.

UPDATE II: The New York Times says the final vote tally was 42-33 and not 41-33 as displayed by the final tote board in the chamber. That figure matches the 75 reps who responded to the initial quorum call I heard the speaker make.

NOTE: New Jersey has 80 Assembly districts which means that six legislators did not vote. A tipster tells me that one of the missing reps is a Republican who would have been a "yes" vote. As for the other five missing votes, I have no idea. There were no abstentions.

EARLIER: The voting should commence sometime around 1pm Eastern. We need 41 votes to win, 54 to override. Even with Monday's win in the Senate, all this may seem symbolic in the face of Christie's promised veto. But let's not forget the enduring power of the positive press today's vote will get around the nation. Plus we get almost two full years to get those extra votes.

INDIA: Supreme Court Hears Challenge To Decriminalization Of Homosexuality

In 2009 the Delhi High Court struck down laws that criminalized gay sex, a move that was celebrated by LGBT activists around the world. Anti-gay and religious groups immediately appealed that decision. This week the Indian Supreme Court began hearings.

Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri, president of the hardline Indian Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said in 2009: “The time has come for all religious leaders to unite on this issue and jointly protest the government’s proposed move to legalise gay rights. A consensus should be evolved for challenging the Delhi High Court order in the Supreme Court.” The case has now been brought and debate began at the Supreme Court yesterday with a petition by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhyaya asked petitioners who had the authority to decide the “order of nature” that gay acts supposedly violate. They asked: “Test-tube babies, surrogate mothers – are they in the order of nature?”

RELATED: Anti-sodomy laws were imposed upon India over 150 years ago when the British took control. Prior to that no such ban existed.

ANCHORAGE: Christian Hate Groups To Battle Against Proposed LGBT Rights Bill

For 35 years, LGBT residents of Anchorage, Alaska have battled for employment and housing protections. Time after time Christian groups have beaten them back. Last week activists successfully placed a referendum on the November ballot which adds the words "sexual orientation and gender identity" to this long list: "race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, physical disability, and mental disability." The result? Outrage, websites, and a vow to defeat LGBT rights yet again.

COLORADO: Civil Unions Bill Advances

Colorado's civil unions bill today cleared its first legislative hurdle as it passed 5-2 before the state Senate Judiciary Committee. A similar bill failed last year.

Hundreds of people packed a hearing room at the Capitol to plead with lawmakers to give them legal protections traditional couples enjoy. The issue has gained traction as more states have recently passed either civil union or gay marriage laws. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper urged lawmakers to pass civil unions during his State of the State speech last month, and more Republicans have expressed public support for the measure. The bill, passed on a 5-2 vote with one Republican senator joining Democrats, is expected to easily clear the full Senate. The real challenge will be in the Republican-controlled House.

One Colorado reacts via press release.

“We applaud today’s vote to ensure that all committed couples have the tools they need to provide for the ones they love. Especially in these difficult economic times, gay and lesbian couples need civil unions to take care of their families. “Today’s testimony reflects the widespread support for this legislation. Business executives and faith leaders, Republicans and Democrats, gay parents and straight allies all realize that passing civil unions is the right thing to do. “With their approval, the Senators on the Judiciary Committee affirmed that all families are worthy of dignity and respect.”

Gregoire's Letter To Christie

Igor Volsky reports that Christie has not bothered to respond. What a classy guy.

WASHINGTON: Activists Launch "Decline To Sign Referendum 74" Campaign

Within minutes of Gov. Gregoire's signing of Washington's marriage equality bill, hate groups filed the paperwork to begin collecting petitions to repeal the law. They haven't yet cleared the procedural hurdles to start accepting signatures, but gay activists have already launched their own decline to sign campaign.

IMPORTANT: Should our enemies gather enough signatures by the cutoff date of June 6th, the next step will be to educate the public that they should vote YES on Referendum 74, which asks if marriage equality should be KEPT. And NOT whether it should be repealed. This sort of counter-intuitive wording often appears on ballot measures, dammit.

Clay Aiken Denounces NC's Marriage Bill

(Via Towleroad)

Pelosi Endorses Dem Marriage Plank

Big news from Freedom To Marry:

"Freedom to Marry is proud to have Leader Pelosi joining our call to put the Democratic Party squarely on record in support of the freedom to marry as part of the national platform. A strong majority of Democrats and Independents support the freedom to marry, and standing up for all families is not just the right thing to do morally, it's also right to do politically. I hope more people will quickly join Leader Pelosi by signing Freedom to Marry's Democrats: Say I Do petition so together we can get the party, and the country, where the majority of Americans already are."

Chris Geidner got the scoop at Metro Weekly. He notes:

The former House speaker's support for the move comes in response to Freedom to Marry's announcement on Feb. 13 that it was launching a campaign to ask the Democrats, as the group put it, to "Say I Do" to including such a marriage equality plank in the party's platform. The platform, a detailed statement of the party's positions that will be finalized at the Democratic National Convention this September, has never included language in support of the right of same-sex couples to marry. And the leader of the party, President Obama, opposed marriage equality in the 2008 campaign. He said in December 2010 that his position on marriage equality was "evolving" but that he still "struggle[s]" with it. His press secretary, Jay Carney, said this past week of Obama's position, "You know his position, where it stands now, on the issue of same-sex marriage, so I really don't have much to add on that."

UGANDA: Government Raids And Shuts Down Secret LGBT Rights Conference

Acting on the orders of Minister for Ethics & Integrity Simon Lokodo (left), the Ugandan government has raided and shut down a secretly organized conference on LGBT rights.

The two week conference organised by Freedom and Roam Uganda, an association that lobbies for the recognition of same sex relationships in Uganda ended prematurely when the minister ordered them to disperse. "I have closed this conference because it's illegal. We do not accept homosexuality in Uganda. So go back home," Minister Lokodo told the participants. Hotel staff had been asked by the organisers not to direct anyone to Elgon hall where the conference was taking place unless the person had been cleared. This would have required a phone call from the organisers. The Minister said the hotel’s management apologized for hosting the event.

Minister Lokodo ordered the arrest of the conference organizer, but according to the above-linked news story, she escaped. That conflicts with another account reported by Box Turtle Bulletin, which states that the organizer was apprehended, but later released. Lokodo is a former Catholic priest who was defrocked last August when he disobeyed Vatican orders to drop his pursuit of a political office.

IMPORTANT: Box Turtle Bulletin's Jim Burroway notes that contrary to Lokodo's statements to the press, Uganda's "kill the gays" bill is still very much on the table. The genesis of that bill came during visits to Uganda by American evangelicals such as Scott Lively.

UPDATE: Local Uganda television has the story.

NEW JERSEY: Christian Hate Groups Plan Massive Anti-Gay Rally For Trenton

The same coalition of anti-gay Christian groups that led tens of thousands of raving Hispanic evangelicals through the streets of Manhattan is planning to repeat that repulsive event this Thursday in the capital of New Jersey.

From the official state website of New York Sen. Ruben Diaz:

New York State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) and fellow Ministers from the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization have accepted an invitation to travel to the New Jersey State Legislature in Trenton to join New Jersey ministers in support of Traditional Marriage. The Pentecostal ministers will depart from the Bronx on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 9AM from the Christian Community Neighborhood Church located at 1437 Longfellow Avenue (between Jennings and Freeman Avenues). Senator Rev. Diaz stated: “I am honored that Rev. Jose C. Lopez, the President of the Evangelical Pastors Association of Hudson County, has invited me and my ministers to join him along with Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage, to once again unite in prayer for the protection of the traditional family.”

At their last hate march through Manhattan, the most prominent chant was "Let us vote! Let us vote!" Which was more than idiotic because as gay bloggers pointed out, the majority of the marchers were bussed in from northern New Jersey courtesy of a local Dominican radio station. If the same bigots attend in Trenton, at least this time they would be voters.

VIDEO: WA Gov. Gregoire Delivers Impassioned Speech & Signs Bill

You won't regret treating yourself to this fantastic bit of LGBT history. Our thanks again to Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire!

(Via JMG reader Brandon)

VIDEO: Signing Of WA Marriage Bill

The ceremony is planned for 11:30am Washington time.

Watch live online here.

Freedom To Marry Demand Marriage Equality Plank At Dem Convention

Via press release:

From now through the September convention, Freedom to Marry will organize to secure inclusion of a freedom to marry plank in the party platform. Freedom to Marry’s Democrats: Say I Do campaign will enlist Democratic party leaders, elected officials, activists, and voters to make the case to the Platform Drafting Committee in support of the freedom to marry plank. As the Committee holds field hearings and other mechanisms for public participation, Freedom to Marry will mobilize committed same-sex couples, both married and those unable to marry, as well as family members, friends, and allies, to make the case. Elected officials such as Freedom to Marry’s Mayors for the Freedom to Marry will join business and labor leaders and others in talking about why marriage matters. And to ensure that all Americans can be heard, Freedom to Marry has launched an online petition that people can sign, urging the party to include the plank in its national platform.

Here's the petition.

Another Marriage Equality Map

This one is by Marriage Equality USA. Hit the link for an embiggened version. One must point out that while the governor will sign Washington state's bill today, equality will not be achieved until the inevitable ballot referendum is resolved.

ILLINOIS: Activists Protest Outside Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral

This was the demonstration that got Porno Pete so worked up yesterday. Windy City Times reports:

Despite a blistering cold morning, more than 20 LGBT activists protested outside of Holy Name Cathedral Feb. 12, a demonstration held in conjunction with National Freedom to Marry Day. The protest, held every year outside the church around Valentine's Day, carried special weight this year after Catholic Cardinal Francis George compared the annual Pride Parade to a Ku Klux Klan gathering in December. The pro-gay protesters were greeted by a counter-protest of approximately 10 people on the steps of the Cathedral, who came bearing signs that read "one man, one woman."

Protesters marched outside the church for more than an hour, chanting "equal rights for everybody" and "stop politicizing love." "This is not an anti-Catholic demonstration," said Andy Thayer of Gay Liberation Network, one of the groups that organized the protest. "This is a demonstration against the Catholic leadership." While some chanted that George was a "bigot" and "archbigot," others expressed discomfort with the intensity of that message or simply greeted parishioners exiting church rather than chanting.

[Top Photo: Kevin Wayne. Bottom Photo: Kate Sosin]