Tag Archives: marriage equality

The Associated Press reports: Staring down the prospect of divided government in the next Congress, Senate Democrats are moving forward with legislation this week to protect same sex and interracial marriages. It’s a vote that’s “as personal as it gets,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. Schumer is holding a test vote on the bill Wednesday, betting that at least …

Posted to Franklin Graham’s Facebook page: The deceitfully named Respect for Marriage Act will be voted on by the U.S. Senate this week, as early as Wednesday. The bill strikes a blow at religious freedom for individuals and ministries and is really the “Destruction of Marriage Act.” Its sponsors remarkably claim it protects religious freedom. It does not. This disastrous …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: In an unexpected move Tuesday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave its support to a proposed federal law, which recognizes all legal marriages, including ones between same-sex partners. The Utah-based faith’s doctrine “related to marriage between a man and a woman is well known and will remain unchanged,” according to a statement …

Semafor reports: Democrats will put the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act up for a vote this week just days after the midterms, according to a Senate aide. Earlier this month, Semafor reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer intended to pass the Respect for Marriage Act by year’s end and that it was expected to have enough votes. This legislation, …

From a column published today by the Daily Caller: Early voting in the midterm elections is underway. While the economy and abortion rights loom large in the minds of voters, polling shows that marriage equality is actively emerging as a key issue with suburban voters. Republican support for the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA) could very well maximize the impact …

Jezebel reports: Per Oz’s campaign website, the rally will take place at 7 p.m. at Ironstone Ranch on the Stone Gables Estate in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The estate—which also features the popular wedding venue, Star Barn Village—prohibits same-sex marriage due to the owner David Abel’s religious beliefs. The venue’s website states that it “reserve[s] the right” to restrict events that …

South Carolina’s Post & Courier reports: Gov. Henry McMaster said he’d support South Carolina’s voided bans on same-sex marriage if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned its 2015 ruling that guaranteed that right to gay couples nationwide. The statement came during the only debate between McMaster and his challenger, Democrat Joe Cunningham, as the governor made clear he still disagrees …

The Military Times reports: Same-sex spouses who were in long-term relationships with a veteran but were not legally able to marry before 2015 may now qualify for survivor benefits under a policy change announced by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The change applies to survivors who — because of bans before a Supreme Court ruling that year making gay marriage …

Via press release: GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is releasing two urgent new ads about the stakes for LGBTQ Americans in the upcoming midterm elections, including the threat to marriage equality, to urge LGBTQ people and allies to vote. GLAAD created the 30-second spot “Marriage Threat” in collaboration with Family Equality. The ads premiere October 12th with …

ABC News reports: Video of a landmark 2010 trial that cleared the way for gay marriage in California can be made public, the culmination of a years-long legal fight. The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would not intervene in the dispute over the recordings, leaving in place lower court rulings permitting the video’s release. The trial more than a …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: After tens of millions of dollars in dueling ads and weeks of circling each other on the campaign trail, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes finally squared off in their first debate Friday night. Meeting in a Milwaukee television studio with just a month to go before the midterms, …

Changing America reports: Senators that don’t support the Respect for Marriage Act or are undecided on the bill could find themselves in a tough spot come November, with voters in key battleground states more likely to support candidates that have backed the measure to codify same-sex and interracial marriage. Majorities of voters in nine states – Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, …

The Deseret News reports: As the Senate considers legislation to protect same-sex marriage, a new poll shows nearly three-fourths of Utahns support legal same-sex marriage. The new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics survey found 72% of residents agree that marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. The poll …

The BBC reports: Cuba has voted to legalise same-sex marriage in a national referendum. About two-thirds of the population voted to approve reforms in a new Family Code, which will also allow surrogate pregnancies and give gay couples the right to adopt children. It marks a big moment for Cuba, which saw gay people persecuted and sent to work camps …

Reuters reports: Cubans will cast ballots this Sunday on whether to approve a new ‘family code’ that would legalize gay marriage and boost women’s rights, with the government urging citizens to vote “yes” despite anger over the worst economic crisis in decades. The Communist-run government – long the vanguard of Latin America’s left – has in the last week flooded …

Politico reports: The Senate won’t vote on protecting same-sex marriage until after the midterm elections, said the bill’s chief sponsor, Tammy Baldwin. “I’m still very confident that they bill will pass but we will be taking the bill up later, after the election,” the Wisconsin senator said after a Democratic caucus lunch. Democrats had planned to hold a vote as …

Politico reports: Chuck Schumer said the Senate would vote on legislation to protect same-sex marriage in the coming weeks, forcing Republicans to take a stance ahead of the midterm elections. “A vote on marriage equality will happen on the Senate floor in the coming weeks,” the Senate majority leader told reporters Wednesday. Schumer’s announcement comes as Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said he will vote against a bill to codify same-sex marriage protections into federal law, ahead of a potential showdown in the Senate over one of the few remaining Democratic priorities expected to get a vote before the midterm elections. On an episode of his podcast Tuesday, Cruz said the bill would …

CBS News reports: Senior Senate Democrats have been considering linking legislation on marriage equality and the continuing resolution to fund the government, a Hill Democratic source tells CBS News. It’s a move that could complicate both the passage of the bill protecting the right to same-sex marriage, passed with bipartisan support in the House, and government funding. Democrats in particular …

ABC News reports: Singapore announced Sunday it will decriminalize sex between men by repealing a colonial-era law while protecting the city-state’s traditional norms and its definition of marriage. During his speech at the annual National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he believed it is the “right thing to do now” as most Singaporeans will now accept it. …