#vacay2017: Kauai, Hawaii (01.11.2017-01.18.2017)

The Other Half and I are leaving Kauai today after spending 7 days and nights on the oldest Hawaiian island. See my feeds on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more information on what we have been up to.

The vacation continues (in Hawaii); we are returning to the Big Island of Hawaii for the next three days or so.

EYE CANDY: Topher Di Maggio (reprise)

Topher Di Maggio has appeared as eye candy before (July 13, 2015). He is a well-known adult performer who is also a model. Enjoy!

MadProfessah Is On Vacation (Maui, Hawaii)

I'm on a quick vacation before the beginning of  the Spring semester, celebrating my 25th(!) anniversary with The Other Half. We're on the Hawaii island of Maui, staying in the Ka'anapali section of the island until Monday January 19. Blogging will be light! (But look for my activity on Instagram, Twitter, Yelp, and Facebook)

MadProfessah On Vacation January 4-12

This may be the last regular post for awhile as I and The Other Half will be on vacation for the next 8 days on the Big Island of Hawai'i! I will probably post some pictures of our adventures either here, or (more likely) on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

QUEER QUOTE: HI Gov. Abercrombie Blames 36 Point Primary Loss On Marriage Equality

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie lost the Democratic nomination for Governor by over 36 percentage points a few weeks ago.

This was quite an astonishing rebuke to the sitting governor of a blue state and it was a surprise to some since Abercrombie outspent his opponent 10-to1 but lost by a 2-to-1 margin to state Senator David Ige. Even more surprising, however, is the supposedly progressive ally blaming his support for marriage equality on his electoral defeat, something the Governor did in interviews recently which becomes today's Queer Quote.

Speaking to reporters in his office, Abercrombie said Republicans, who are allowed to vote in the state's open primary, crossed over to vote against him because of his maneuver to legalize gay marriage. He also claimed that religious leaders urged voters to choose his opponent.

"Republicans crossed over en masse to vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came in," he said, as quoted by the AP. "Doctrinally I was outside the circle and paid for it."

Who is Abercrombie trying to fool? Does he really think there are enough Republican voters in Hawaii to cause a 35-point deficit in a Democratic primary election? Does he think that voters who were asked about what issues were important to them were lying when they did not mention marriage equality?

9th Circuit Refuses To Reconsider Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ruling

Big news from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals! The now fully staffed court has denied a sua ponte request to reconsider their important ruling in SmithKline Beecham. That case is the about juror discrimination where the 9th Circuit ruled that sexual orientation is not a valid characteristic for removing a potential juror, by declaring that sexual orientation is a suspect classification that requires heightened scrutiny. A majority of judges on the 26-member court agreed that an en banc hearing was not warranted, while the three most conservative members of the court signed on to a 10-page decision dissenting in the decision of the court. Neither of the parties in the underlying dispute had asked the court to review the question of what standard of review sexual orientation should receive, that was instigated by an anonymous member of the 9th Circuit. The fact that the decision is now final means that in order to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the 9th Circuit's jurisdictional area, an exceedingly persuasive reason has to be given. As  Joe Jervis says, this will almost certainly lead to marriage equality in the states of the 9th Circuit which do not have it yet: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Nevada.

SCOTUS Blog also discusses the implications of the permanence of SmithKline:

 Of the twelve federal appeals courts to confront the issue, ten have taken the position that challenges to laws which allegedly discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation should be analyzed only by the least-demanding standard — that is, “rational basis” review.   Using that standard, at least some courts have upheld bans on same-sex marriage. 

[...] 

In the cases now awaiting Ninth Circuit review, state officials are attempting to defend same-sex marriage bans only in the Idaho case.  State officials in Oregon and Nevada have given up the defense of such bans, and Hawaii has moved on its own to allow such marriages.   Because the panel’s decision in the SmithKline decision is now binding in that circuit, in the wake of denial of en banc review, it sets the standard for judging the state bans throughout the geographic region included in the Ninth Circuit.

The other appellate court to decide sexual orientation should receive heightened scrutiny is the 2nd U.S. Circuit, which did so in their ruling which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in Windsor v United States, a decision the Supreme Court upheld last year (but did not address the level of review question).

Freedom To Marry Summarizes Marriage Equality Victories In 2013

Freedom to Marry, the campaign to win marriage equality nationwide, has summarized the amazing progress in marriage equality that happened in the last year into one animated gif (shown above) and a blog post written by Evan Wolfson: "Top 10 Freedom to Marry Moments in 2013."

10. Anniversaries and Milestones in Massachusetts, Hawaii, and More9. More Republicans Join the Cause8. Majority of U.S. Senate Supports the Freedom to Marry7. Ascendance of Pope Francis and a New Tone on Gay People and Marriage6. President Obama Extols the Freedom to Marry in Inaugural Address5. Freedom to Marry Makes International Gains Around the World4. Record Majorities for Marriage3. Obama Administration Moves Swiftly and Strongly to Implement Federal Respect for Married Couples – Even in Discriminating States2. We Win the Freedom to Marry in a Record 9 More States1. Supreme Court Strikes Down Core of DOMA

Go to the post and read the details behind these headlines.

GRAPHIC: The Flag of Equal Marriage

This is what the flag of the United States would look like if you only included the states where marriage equality is currently law. This ongoing online protest is a project of MakeItEqual.org.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress.

Same-Sex Marriages Begin In Hawaii, Becoming 15th Marriage Equality State

And then there were 15! Hawaii is now the 15th state in the United States where all resident couples who want to get married will be issued marriage licenses.

The Honolulu Star-Tribune reports:

Hawaii's marriage laws allow couples to register for a license and be married the same day, a process conducive for tourists only in the state a short time.

Couples can sign up for a license online then be verified by any license agent throughout the state. Agents have set up shop throughout the islands, from resorts on Maui and the Big Island to hard-to-reach places on Kauai.

Saralyn and Isajah Morales began filling out license applications a few minutes after midnight along with other couples. Several license agents huddled around four laptops in a tiny conference room, refreshing their web browsers to coax a state-run website to load. A few feet away, wedding guests sipped champagne, dined on curried shrimp and portabella mushroom sliders, listened to piano music and took pictures with each of seven cakes on display for the occasion.

[...]

Hawaii is often credited with starting the national gay marriage discussion, when couples applying for a marriage license led to a court fight that eventually helped prompt Congress to pass the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Part of the law was struck down earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court.

I have been involved in the fight for marriage equality since the early 1990s when we thought Hawaii would be the first state where gay couples would be able to get married. That state turned out to be Massachusetts, in 2004.

Amazingly, just in 2013 the following states have enacted marriage equality: Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Minnesota, California and New Jersey. Illinois has already enacted marriage equality, but same-sex couples will not be able to get married until July 1. The next states that are expected to be marriage quality states are New Mexico and Oregon, probably sometime later in 2014.

White House Issues Statement on Marriage Equality in Hawaii!

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 12, 2013

Statement by the President on Marriage Equality in Hawaii

I want to congratulate the Hawaii State Legislature on passing legislation in support of marriage equality.  With today’s vote, Hawaii joins a growing number of states that recognize that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters should be treated fairly and equally under the law.  Whenever freedom and equality are affirmed, our country becomes stronger.  By giving loving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry if they choose, Hawaii exemplifies the values we hold dear as a nation.  I’ve always been proud to have been born in Hawaii, and today’s vote makes me even prouder.  And Michelle and I extend our best wishes to all those in Hawaii whose families will now be given the security and respect they deserve. 

###

HISTORIC! Hawaii House Passes Marriage Equality Bill 30-19!

The Hawaii House of Representatives made history last night by giving final passage to an amended marriage equality bill 30-19. This legislative action practically insures that the Aloha State will become the 16th state to have enacted marriage equality, and the second state legislative house to make history this week, following Illinois on Wednesday. The Hawaii Senate still needs to pass the amended bill and send it to the Governor, who intends to enthusiastically sign it into law:

"I commend the House of Representatives for taking this historic vote to move justice and equality forward.  

"After more than 50 hours of public testimony from thousands of testifiers on both sides of the issue, evaluating dozens of amendments, and deliberating procedures through hours of floor debates, the House passed this significant bill, which directly creates a balance between marriage equity for same-sex couples and protects our First Amendment freedoms for religious organizations. 

"I applaud Speaker Souki, Judiciary Chair Rhoads, Finance Chair Luke, Majority Leader Saiki and the rest of the leadership team for their patience, fairness and hard work in shepherding this bill through the House.  

"I am confident that the Senate will address the bill in the same spirit. I look forward to a successful conclusion to this major step in affirming everyone's civil rights."

There's an extra resonance in Hawaii joining the burgeoning group of states embracing marriage equality because twenty years ago it was widely expected to be the first state to end marriage discrimination against same-sex couples. However, it didn't turn out that way and now Hawaii will be the 16th state instead of the first. Oh well, better late than never.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Illinois House Passes Marriage Equality, Will Become State #15 Soon!

The Illinois House of Representatives narrowly passed a marriage equality bill 61-54 today, basically ensuring that the Land of Lincoln will become the 15th state in the United States to allow same-sex couples to marry legally. The measure, SB 10, had previously passed the State Senate overwhelmingly 34-21 and heads back there today for concurrence with some amendments and then on to Governor Pat Quinn's enthusiastic signature.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The bill got 61 votes, one more than the bare minimum needed to send the measure back to the Senate for final approval that’s expected later today. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he would sign the bill into law should it reach his desk.

The House vote followed more than two-and-a-half hours of debate in which supporters said it’s time for Illinois to make marriage equal for all and opponents raised concerns about protecting the institution of marriage and the religious beliefs of those who say marriage should be between a man and woman.

Sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris told colleagues that a series of “proud moments and difficult decisions that have brought honor upon the people and the state of Illinois, and we find ourselves at another one of those moments today.”

The openly gay Democratic lawmaker from Chicago said the state’s civil union law has saddled Illinois with “inequality, unfair burden and harms added layer by layer to people simply because they live in the state of Illinois.”

“To treat all our citizens equally in the eyes of the law, we must change this,” Harris said.

The bill received three yes votes from Republicans and 11 no votes from Democrats. Just last week Greg Harris was picketed by marriage equality supporters for his delay in calling the bill to a vote. However, I'm sure all will be forgiven now that another blue state has entered the ranks of marriage equality.

The real question in my mind is what will be the first red state to have marriage equality?

Hawaii Senate Passes Marriage Equality Bill 20-4!

The race to become the 15th state with marriage equality between Hawaii, Illinois and New Mexico seems to have the Aloha State in the lead right now.  Thanks to a special legislative session which started on Monday, the Hawaii state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill to enact marriage equality by a vote of 20 to 4. The bill now goes to the state House, where passage is expected, according to The Advocate.

The House, where the vote is likely to be closer, may try to put more religious exemptions into the measure. It currently exempts clergy members who oppose same-sex marriage from having to perform such unions, but it does not allow for-profit businesses to refuse, on religious grounds, to provide wedding-related services to gay couples. An amended bill would have to go back to the Senate for another vote.

An interesting historical footnote here is that Hawaii was the site of the beginning of the modern movement to legalize marriage equality when the state Supreme Court issued a ruling in 1993 that it believed denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples was sex discrimination requiring the government to provide a compelling state interest to justify it. Within 3 years the Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act in a hysterical response to the possibility that Hawaii would legalize same-sex marriage and the rest of the country would be "forced" to recognize these marriages. In 1998, Hawaii voters enacted a constitutional amendment giving power to the legislature to ban same-sex marriage. Because that measure did not explicitly define marriage as between a man and a woman, the Legislature also has the power now to enact marriage equality.

It's amazing to think that 20 years later Hawaii could (finally) end marriage discrimination, just as the Hawaii Supreme Court predicted.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress

Marriage Equality Starts In New Jersey; Christie Drops Appeal

As expected, marriage equality reached New Jersey at 12:01am this morning and soon afterwards U.S. Senator-elect Cory Booker officiated his first marriage as Mayor of Newark, the state's largest city.

Interestingly, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced a few hours later that he had decided to drop his administration's appeal of the September 26 ruling that is being implemented today to the New Jersey Supreme Court, thus removing any ambiguity about the future status of marriage equality in the Garden State.

Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry released a statement making it clear that his organization is not willing to stop at the 14 states (and Washington, DC) that now have marriage equality:

"At long last, the freedom to marry is now permanently law of the land in New Jersey. The marriages of loving, committed couples throughout the Garden State, combined with Governor Christie's withdrawal of his appeal, is joyous news to New Jerseyans, both gay and non-gay. The momentum continues to build nationwide and we are working hard to deliver victories in Hawaii, Illinois and New Mexico yet in 2013."

And Chad Griffin of Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT rights group in the country, emailed supporters reminding them of their goal to reach 50 marriage equality states within 5 years of this year's Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Windsor and listed the states that they are focused on in the foreseeable future:

• In Hawaii, we've sent three senior field organizers to work with the Hawaii United for Marriage campaign, and we're expecting a vote in the legislature any day now.
• In Illinois, we have invested more than $255,000 in the legislative marriage campaign. Nine HRC organizers are on the ground working to generate constituent contacts and secure a favorable House vote for the marriage equality bill, which has already passed in the Senate.
• In New Mexico, we have hired two field organizers to mobilize support as a marriage equality lawsuit is pending before the State Supreme Court.
• In New Jersey, we have deployed four field organizers and a senior field organizer to partner with the New Jersey United for Marriage campaign following Governor Christie's appeal of a pro-marriage trial court decision and his veto of the marriage equality bill.
• In Oregon, HRC is part of the governing board of the Oregon United for Marriage campaign that seeks to replace the state's existing marriage amendment with full marriage equality. HRC is also funding the campaign's faith director and has deployed a senior field organizer to be part of the campaign.
• In Indiana, HRC is fighting alongside the bipartisan coalition Freedom Indiana to defeat an anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
• In Arizona and Ohio, we helped launch educational campaigns with the aim of repealing and replacing the states' "Defense of Marriage" Amendments at the ballot in 2016.

Only time will tell what will happen next. What do YOU think? Will there be 50 states with marriage equality within 5 years?

I think it is possible, but I would probably give it until 2020. In order to do so one would need a ruling from the United States Supreme Court recognizing that the freedom to marry explicitly includes the right to marry someone of the same-sex. In order for that to happen within the next five years it is likely one needs to reach a majority of states (twenty-six) that have marriage equality as well as a majority of Supreme Court justices (five) that would endorse the concept. That would almost certainly require at least one (if not more) Republican-appointed justices to retire.

What do you think?

New Jersey Poised To Become 14th Marriage Equality State Monday!

More big news out of New Jersey today. Wednesday night Cory Booker made history by becoming only the fourth black man to ever been elected to the Senate (one went on to become our President of the United States!) Today's big news is that New Jersey will become the 14th marriage equality state on Monday because the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously denied Governor Chris Christie's motion for a stay to delay implementation of a lower court ruling that said the state must start issuing marriage licenses October 21. The New Jersey Supreme Court had earlier decided to hear the appeal of the lower court decision and the current skirmish was over whether the ruling would go into effect prior to its ratification or nullification by the state's highest court. The fact that the Court left the ruling go into effect would seem to signal they will uphold the ruling. And even if they don't there is a pending vote in the New Jersey legislature to override Christie's veto of a marriage equality bill.

The Court allowed marriage equality to begin in New Jersey by saying:

A spokesperson for Governor Christie has issued a statement saying "The Supreme Court has made its determination. While the governor firmly believes that this determination should be made by all the people of the state of New Jersey, he has instructed the Department of Health to cooperate with all municipalities in effectuating the order of the Superior Court under the applicable law."

New Jersey may not even be the last state this year to enact marriage equality. Hawaii has a special session of the legislature starting on Monday October 28th in order to consider a marriage equality bill and Illinois also still has a pending bill which has passed the State Senate and is stalled in the House (and there's a pending lawsuit). The New Mexico State Supreme court will hear oral arguments to determine whether every county has to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples next Wednesday October 23.

Hawaii Gov. Calls Special Session On Marriage Equality For Oct. 28

Hawaii is generally on lists of states that are likely to be next to enact marriage equality (along with New Mexico, Oregon, Illinois and New Jersey). The state took a big step forward in this direction recently when Gov. Neil Abercrombie called a special session of the Hawaii legislature dedicated to the consideration of marriage equality legislation. The special session is set to begin October 28.

The Hawaii Reporter reports:

Hawaii already has a reciprocal beneficiaries law and a civil unions law, but Abercrombie wants a special session to pass a gay marriage bill now.

“The decision to call a special session is based on doing what is right to create equity for all in Hawaii,” Abercrombie said in a statement Monday. “The merits of holding a special session include the opportunity for the Legislature to focus squarely on this important issue, without having to divert attention to the hundreds of other bills introduced during a regular session.”

After learning two weeks ago he didn’t have the votes in the House from his own Democratic party members, Abercrombie released a draft of his proposed gay marriage bill to show his office is “doing its due diligence” and “being transparent.”

Abercrombie also continued to meet with House Democrats — 44 of the 51 House members — behind closed doors, and now believes he has the votes he needs.

If the bill passes and is then signed into law by Gov. Abercrombie, same-sex couples could be getting married by Thanksgiving!

Celebrity Friday, Barry Obama (circa 1979)

This picture of 17-year-old Barack "Barry" Obama at his senior prom has been making the rounds. It was taken just a few months before he would start school at Occidental College in Los Angeles (where I teach).

I think it is an interesting enough picture that it should be today's Celebrity Friday. Can you tell that he would become the first Black president of the United States? I can't! I wonder where the other people in the picture are now?

Hat/tip to Wonder Man

Saturday Politics: Majorities In 12 States Support Marriage

In 2012, there was majority support for marriage equality in 12 states and the District of Columbia, according to a recent report released by UCLA's Williams Institute. Those states were Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Maine, Washington, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Colorado and California. (The District of Columbia had the largest support, at 62%.) The seven jurisdictions in bold already have marriage equality, while Hawaii (54%), Oregon (54%), New Jersey (51%), Rhode Island (50%), Colorado (50%) and California (50%) all have either civil unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships. Hawaii, Oregon, Colorado and California all have voter-approved state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. However, Oregon and possibly California and New Jersey may be voting to enact marriage equality at the ballot box in the near future.

The Williams Institute report's analysis indicates that ballot measures in several states (including Oregon, California and New Jersey) may be successful in the very near future.

This research brief identi ed that there 12 states plus the District ofColumbia presently with a majority (50% or above) in support of same-sex marriage. And, given current trends in public opinion on this issue, an additional 8 states will join this group by 2014. 

[...] 

Finally, there are 10 states that have previously passed constitutionalamendments to not introduce same-sex marriages that now have a majority or are within five percentage points of a majority in favor same-sex marriage (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). These states may be the future political arenas where existing constitutional amendments may be repealed in order to perform marriages for same-sex couples in those states.

This does put the poll question I previously asked back on the table: now that majority support is indicated for marriage equality, should those in favor of it use the ballot box to enact our public policy aims of enacting the civil right to civil marriages in those states? The dilemma is that it has long been a policy position of civil rights activists that "civil rights should never be subject to the tyranny of the majority." So, to now say that we will use the majority now that it is in our favor could be perceived as hypocritical. However, there are clear real and tangible harms to LGBT citizens by sticking to principle and not using every available means to end discrimination against same-sex couples as soon as possible. What do you think? Vote now:

Should New Jersey LGBT activists agree to allow a referendum on marriage equality in November 2013?
	Yes, since polls indicate a wide majority support marriage equality, the measure would pass easily.
	No,because allowing a vote on marriage equality violates a core principle of civil rights.
	Unsure, this is a tough question!
pollcode.com free polls

The Williams Report gives the level of support for marriage equality in every state in 2004 (numbers in green) and 2012 (numbers in blue) and uses that data to conclude that the rate of support is about 1.6 percentage points per year, on average, in every state. (It should be noted that that is the average rate; in some states the rate of increase of support for marriage equality is increasing at a more rapid rate, in some it is doing so at a slower rate. The key point is that support for marriage equality is increasing in every state.) This is shown in the figure below:

I think the proper thing to do is probably wait for the United States Supreme Court to weigh in on the civil rights of LGBT people in the Hollingsworth (California's Proposition 8) and Windsor (Defense of Marriage Act) cases. If the judiciary branch refuses to play its traditional role in our democracy of protecting the civil rights of minorities, then going to the ballot box to enact those rights seems perfectly justifiable.

Celebrity Friday: Jim Nabors Marries Male Partner

Jim Nabors, the former star of the television show Gomer Pyle, USMC has come out as openly gay and married his longtime male partner in Washington on January 15, it was reported recently. Nabors, 82, and Scott Cadwallader, 64, have been together for 38 years (when they were 26 and 44!) and travelled from their home in Hawaii to marry in Seattle soon after it became legal thanks to the passage of Referendum 74 in the November 2012 elections, according to Hawaii News:

A judge performed the marriage ceremony in the privacy of their hotel room with a couple of friends who live down the street from them near Diamond Head as witnesses, Nabors said. 

Before they were married, Nabors said, "It's pretty obvious that we had no rights as a couple, yet when you've been together 38 years, I think something's got to happen there, you've got to solidify something.  And at my age, it's probably the best thing to do." 

Nabors said he met Cadwallader in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu fire fighter.  He eventually went to work for Nabors and they began a relationship.

Interestingly, Nabors says he was out toco-workers and friends while he was busy in show business in the 1960s and 1970s

55% Favor Marriage Equality In Hawaii (37% Oppose)

A new poll shows that support for marriage equality in the very Democratic state of Hawaii is at 55% with opposition only at 37%. An interesting result in the poll is that those who strongly favor marriage equality are at 39% and those who strongly oppose it are 26% of the population.

The timing of the release of the poll is propitious since marriage equality bills have been introduced into the State Assembly and State Senate in the last week.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress