Tag Archives: marriage equality

Via Equality Florida: Florida also made history today as Arlene Goldberg and her late wife, Carol Goldwasser, officially became the first same-sex couple whose marriage is respected in the state. US District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled on August 21, 2014 that Florida’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples was unconstitutional and – despite a stay on his ruling –ordered …

Via the Associated Press: A South Carolina court has issued a marriage license to a same-sex couple despite the state’s constitutional ban against the practice and the attorney general’s pledge to defend it. Charleston County Probate Judge Irvin Condon issued the license Wednesday morning to two women: Charleston County Councilwoman Colleen Condon and Nichols Bleckley. Earlier this week, the U.S. …

Via the Idaho Statesman: Earlier this morning, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter filed a motion with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a stay pending appeal of the court’s ruling Tuesday that Idaho’s law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional be stayed pending an appeal. Without the stay, county clerks throughout Idaho will be compelled to begin issuing mariage licenses to …

Via the San Antonio Express-News: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to fast-track its review of Texas’ ban on gay marriage, likely queuing up oral arguments in the case before the end of the year. On Tuesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed to expedite oral arguments in the case. The request came …

“Right now I think folks who look at this issue and think that NOM or any of the groups out there supporting the traditional definition of marriage, that we’re the Goliath, and the pro-gay marriage Human Rights Campaign is the David — they’ve got the story in reverse. They are one organization among a whole platter of organizations like Freedom …

Details.(Tipped by JMG reader Bruce)

Perhaps obviously, there is no waiting period to marry in Nevada. It’s not yet clear if other county clerks will also be issuing licenses. Clark County is home to Las Vegas and 75% of Nevada’s population.

Via press release: Today, four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the State of Wyoming’s refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry and to respect the legal marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states. The couples will ask the court for an immediate order directing state officials to comply with a decision …

UPDATE: JMG reader Bill directs us to the Flag Of Equal Marriage, which after today will be adding more stars.

Can you STAND IT? Read the ruling. UPDATE: Via press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Today’s decision, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, holds that “Idaho and Nevada’s marriage laws, by preventing same-sex couples from marrying and refusing to recognize same-sex marriages celebrated elsewhere, impose profound legal, financial, social and psychic harms on numerous citizens of those states.” …

Via press release: The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear arguments in the marriage cases before it is a huge win for all families across the nation, including in Florida. Because Judge Hinkle tied the stay in the ACLU’s case to the lifting of the stays in the very cases which the Supreme Court today refused to hear, …

Via the Huntington Herald-Dispatch: U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers his lifted his stay, clearing the way for arguments and proceedings to resume in a federal lawsuit targeting West Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. The order delivers a partial victory three, same-sex couples who urged Chambers to lift the stay Monday in light of a Supreme Court decision rendering such …

Via Law Week Colorado: This morning, the Colorado Supreme Court removed the remaining legal obstacles to same-sex marriages in Colorado. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in a press release, “Beginning today, Colorado’s 64 county clerks are legally required to issue licenses to same-sex couples who request them. In addition, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is required …

Especially delicious as Virginia is home to The 700 Club.

“Because of the Supreme Court’s denial, marriages between couples of the same sex have begun today in Virginia. This occurrence reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the intrinsic nature of marriage and represents an injustice to over a million Virginia voters, whose decision was to enshrine the understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman into our …

“Yesterday’s action by the Supreme Court only solidifies the idea that the powerful elites who dominate politics, media and culture do not care what the people think, expressed through the ballot box or their elected state legislators. And if ‘We the People’s’ votes do not count, then We live not in freedom but under tyranny. The notion that nine men …

Via the News-Observer: Phil Berger [photo], president pro tem of the N.C. Senate, and Thom Tillis, speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives, two of the Republican leaders who helped shepherd Amendment One to a statewide referendum, said late Monday they planned to take on the legal battle to defend the ban that North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has …

From the editorial board of the New York Times: The forces against marriage equality are not going down without a fight. In nearly half the country, gay and lesbian couples are still treated as second-class citizens, denied the respect and dignity — as well as the tangible financial benefits — that come with the ability to marry. In a speech …