30 Years Ago: Prince's Purple Rain Released!

30 years ago today the album Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution was released.

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.

Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal In Utah After Federal Judge Strikes Down Marriage Ban

Well, well, well! While I was incommunicado watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug this afternoon apparently there was some amazing breaking news. Federal judge Robert Shelby issued a ruling which struck down Utah's voter-passed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and refused to issue a stay of his decision, which means that same-sex couples can now get married in the Beehive state. There is a keen sense of irony that this is occurring in Utah, which is the location of the Mormon Church, one of the most virulent opponents of marriage equality and LGBT rights throughout the country.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement:

 The Church has been consistent in its support of traditional marriage while teaching that all people should be treated with respect. This ruling by a district court will work its way through the judicial process. We continue to believe that voters in Utah did the right thing by providing clear direction in the state constitution that marriage should be between a man and a woman and we are hopeful that this view will be validated by a higher court.

The Governor of Utah, Republican Gary Hebert said:

"I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting Attorney General to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah."

The full text of the decision can be accessed here.

Ian Milhiser analyzed the ruling at Think Progress:

Beyond Judge Shelby’s conclusion that marriage is a question of constitutional rights, not one of states’ rights — as he explains, “the Fourteenth Amendment requires that individual rights take precedence over states’ rights where these two interests are in conflict” — Shelby’s opinion appears designed to tear down whatever intellectual infrastructure remains supporting marriage discrimination.

The leading argument advanced by supporters of discrimination in same-sex marriage cases is that marriage is necessarily tied to procreation, so same-sex couples can be excluded because they cannot produce biological offspring. Yet, as Shelby points out, the ability to procreate is not “a defining characteristic of conjugal relationships from a legal and constitutional point of view.” Such an argument does not simply “demean[] the dignity” of same-sex couples, it also degenerates “the many opposite-sex couples who are unable to reproduce or who choose not to have children.” Indeed, under Utah’s argument for maintaining marriage discrimination, “a post-menopausal woman or infertile man does not have a fundamental right to marry because she or he does not have the capacity to procreate.”

Additionally, opponents of marriage equality who cheered Justice Antonin Scalia’s sharply worded dissent in Lawrence v. Texas — another landmark gay rights opinion — may come to regret Scalia’s words after reading Judge Shelby’s opinion. Scalia wrote in Lawrence that “[t]oday’s opinion dismantles the structure of constitutional law that has permitted a distinction to be made between heterosexual and homosexual unions, insofar as formal recognition in marriage is concerned.” Shelby’s opinion proclaims that Scalia was right.

Oh the delicious irony. Will noted homophobe Justice Antonin Scalia disavow his dissent in Lawrence in order to deny a fundamental right to marry that he announced the Supreme Court would be powerless to prevent from being articulated if private sexual relations were removed from governmental regulation? It will be fascinating to see what happens when this decision goes to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court in the future.

But right now, astonishingly, Utah is the 18th state in the union to have enacted marriage equality, and the first very red state to do so. Presumably, same-sex couples will be able to get civil marriage licenses and get married in Utah (no waiting period!) until a stay is issued by a higher court, which could happen as early as Monday.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

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.

33% Of U.S. Population (100+ Million People) Living With Marriage Equality

One decade ago there were exactly zero states that had marriage equality, even though the Defense of Marriage Act had been federal law for seven years. In November 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state constitution required equal marriage rights for same-sex couples under the law and issued an order to go in effect on May 17, 2004. Note that the second state, Connecticut did not have marriage equality until November 2008 (and for a brief 173 days starting in June 2008 Californians had access to same-sex marriage prior to the passage of Proposition 8). So, really in a little over 5 years marriage equality has increased from roughly 10 million to another order of magnitude.

With New Jersey becoming the 14th state to enact marriage equality this week there are now well over 100 million people who live in states with marriage equality, about 33% of the entire U.S. population.

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) summaries the astonishingly rapid progress:

State	Date Effective	Population	Percent
Massachusetts	May 2004	6,547,629	2.12%
Connecticut	Nov. 2008	3,574,097	1.16%
Iowa	Apr. 2009	3,046,355	0.99%
Vermont	Jun. 2009	625,741	0.20%
New Hampshire	Jan. 2010	1,316,470	0.43%
Washington, D.C.	Mar. 2010	601,723	0.19%
New York	Jun. 2011	19,378,361	6.28%
Washington	Dec. 2012	6,724,540	2.18%
Maine	Dec. 2012	1,328,361	0.43%
Maryland	Jan. 2013	5,773,552	1.87%
Delaware	Jun. 2013	897,934	0.29%
California	Jun. 2013	37,253,956	12.07%
Minnesota	Aug. 2013	5,303,925	1.72%
Rhode Island	Aug. 2013	1,052,567	0.34%
New Jersey	Oct. 2013	8,791,894	2.84%
	Total	102,216,846	33.11%

Any predictions for when the United States will hit 50%? Remember Illinois, Hawaii, New Mexico and Oregon are widely expected to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples sooner rather than later.

Marriage Equality Now Legal In RI and MN Today

With marriage equality laws going into effect in Rhode Island and Minnesota today, the nation has 13 states where marriage equality is now the law of the land. They become the 3rd and 4th states to have marriage equality go into effect in this year, after Delaware (July 1) and California (June 28).

Hat/tip to Freedom To Marry

Last Day for Illinois Marriage Equality Bill To Pass

Today is the last day of the legislative session in Illinois and thus the last day the state can enact marriage equality in 2013. It needs to pass the state House by the time before adjourning. Signs are good that the measure has the votes and will come up for a vote. One of these signs is that openly gay legislator Greg Harris has been saying for days that he has the votes to pass it, and there is word that the Speaker of the Illinois House is inviting same-sex couples to the gallery to watch the vote on the measure, but it's not done until the final vote is cast!

If Illinois does enact marriage equality today, it would be the fourth state in 2013 to do so, following Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Minnesota Will Become 12th Marriage Equality State!!

As I expected, the Minnesota Senate passed a marriage equality bill, 37-30, today, and Governor Mark Dayton (D) has announced he will sign it into law tomorrow at 5pm on the Capitol Steps. That means that on August 1st, Minnesota will become the 12th state where same-sex couples can get legally married, following on the heels of Rhode Island's law (11th state) which goes into effect the same day and a month after Delaware's which goes into effect on July 1st. I think it is only fair to order the states the order in which their laws go into effect, not the order in which they may have passed the bills.

And we are still waiting to see what happens in Illinois, where marriage equality passed the Senate (way back in February 15th by a vote of 34-21) and the bill is pending in the House.  Marriage equality may also return to California by the end of the June, since the Supreme Court is deciding whether Proposition 8, a state constitutional ban on marriage passed after marriage equality was already legal in the state (and I got married!), is constitutional under federal law.

Regardless, it is clear that 2013 is turning out to be a pretty good year for the good guys in the ongoing Kulturkampf (culture war) over what "equal right for all" means.

Minnesota Senate Voting on Marriage Equality NOW!

The state of Minnesota is widely expected to become the next state to enact marriage equality. The Minnesota House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill by a vote of 75-59 on Thursday. As of 1pm EST the Minnesota State Senate will begin debate on the marriage equality bill, where it is expected to pass. The State Senate has 67 members, 39 of which are Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) members and 28 of which are Republican. The bill needs 34 votes to pass.

The Minnesota Star-Tribune reports that the bill is expected to pass and after Gov. Mark Dayton signs it into law, will go into effect on August 1, 2013.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Minnesota House Passes Marriage Equality Bill 75-59!

As expected, the Minnesota House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill 75-59, less than 6 months after Minnesota voters narrowly rejected an anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment which would have disempowered the legislature from enacting such legislation.

According to Freedom To Marry, the bill will be voted on in the Senate on Tuesday May 13 (and is expected to pass). Governor Mark Dayton has said he will sign it into law if it passes the legislature.

WATCH: History Of Marriage Equality Laws In United States

With Delaware's dramatic movement yesterday to become the 11th state to enact marriage equality since 2003 (and the second state this year after Rhode Island) it's a good time to look back at how far the issue of marriage equality has come in the last four decades. The cool graphic created by The Atlantic (shown above) does just that.

For the record these are the years and states that have enacted marriage equality:

• 2013: Delaware, Rhode Island
• 2012: Maine, Maryland, Washington
• 2011: New York
• 2009: New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, District of Columbia
• 2008: Connecticut (and California*)
• 2003: Massachusetts

*California had marriage equality from June 15, 2008 to November 5, 2008. California is the only state where same-sex couples have had the right to marry and then have had that right revoked by the passage of Proposition 8. Whether Proposition 8 is constitutional is a question the United States Supreme Court is currently considering, in the case Hollingsworth v Perry. 

As I reviewed the 11 states that have enacted marriage equality I noticed that the only Republican governor to sign a marriage equality bill into law was Jodi Rell of Connecticut, and she did so after the state Supreme Court had already enacted marriage equality and the legislature passed a bill codifying the Kerrigan decision. Republican governors in California (2005 and 2007), New Jersey (2011) and Vermont (2009) have all vetoed marriage equality bills. Only Governor Jim Douglas's veto has been over-ridden. Chris Christie's veto is subject to override until January 2014 and may happen.

All 11 states that have passed marriage equality are "blue states," i.e. states that consistently vote for Democratic candidates for president. Iowa is probably the least blue of these states, and is primarily a red state at the state level. New Hampshire is probably purplish-blue, and has had a Republican legislature since marriage equality was enacted. These are probably the two states where marriage equality is the most vulnerable to repeal efforts. However, in the last few years the movement has been in the direction of more marriage equality. In fact, since 2004 every year has ended with more people living in jurisdictions that allow same-sex couples than the year before. Does anyone think that process is going to be reversed? Only bigoted heterosexual supremacists, but they are quickly receding into a vortex of delusion, denial and demagoguery.

All eyes are now looking at Illinois and Minnesota where there are Democratic majorities in the legislature and Democratic governors eager to sign marriage equality bills into law. And California may have marriage equality after June's Supreme Court decision. In 2014, there will be ballot measures on marriage equality in Oregon, Nevada (and possibly California).

New sources say that Minnesota may enact marriage equality as soon as next week!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Queer Quote: IL, MN Govs Support Marriage Equality

Pat Quinn (D-IL)	Mark Dayton (D-MN)

Marriage equality legislation is expected to make its way through the legislatures of Minnesota and Illinois (and other states like Rhode Island) in the near future. This is what the respective governors of thos estates, Democrat Pat Quinn of Illinois and Democrat Mark Dayton of Minnesota have to say:

MINNESOTA 

"I believe that every Minnesotan should have the freedom to marry legally the person she or he loves, whether of the same or other sex. Last year, Minnesotans began a conversation about why marriage matters, and we found our common belief that it is about love, commitment, and responsibility. I want Minnesota to be a state which affirms that freedom for one means freedom for everyone, and where no one is told it is illegal to marry the person you love." Governor Mark Dayton (D-MN) 

ILLINOIS 

"Marriage equality is coming to Illinois.Now, it's time to take the next step in achieving full equality.  Let's pass this bill for marriage equality and let's do it now.  Our Illinois is not a land of discrimination." Governor Pat Quinn (D-IL)

These two quotes signify the significant movement towards enacting marriage equality at the state level in 2013.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Obama Lobbies For Illinois Marriage Equality Bill

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that President Obama has been in personal communication with legislators in Illinois to lobby them in support of marriage equality legislation which is expected to be considered during a lame-duck session in January.

"While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," White House spokesman Shin Inouye told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday.

"As he has said, his personal view is that it's wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so. Were the President still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally," Inouye said.

The lead sponsors of the "Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act," state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), intend to put the measure up for a vote during the upcoming January lame-duck session.

The toughest challenge for gay marriage backers will be winning passage in the Illinois House. Prospects for approval in the Illinois Senate--where Obama once served--are brighter.

The practical impact of Obama urging his home state to legalize gay marriage is to prod--and give political cover to--reluctant Democrats from conservative suburban and Downstate districts.

Illinois has a civil union law that went into effect on June 1, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn (D) is one of the most unpopular governors in the country but has stated his support for marriage equality. Illinois's current discriminatory marriage law is being challenged in court and the governor and attorney general are refusing to defend it, since they support marriage equality as well.

Obama announced publicly in May 2012 that he supports marriage equality and released statements in support of marriage equality ballot measures in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and Washington during the 2012 presidential election campaign. This is the first state marriage equality bill that Obama has lobbied for, but since he started his political career as a member of the Illinois legislature, it is expected that he has a personal stake and interest in his home state enacting marriage equality.

Hat/tip to Talking Points Memo

WA Ref. 74 Near 54-46 Win For Marriage Equality

The passage of Washington's Referendum 74 was known sometime last week when the heterosexual supremacists conceded and preliminary election results showed a decisive 52%-48% victory for marriage equality.

Washington is now a 100% vote-by-mail state now so their election results take a little bit longer to be finalized. The very latest results (from November 21) show that Referendum 74 is being approved by over 225,000 out of well over 3 million votes, with 1,652,306 in favor of marriage equality and 1,426,742 against it, which in percentages is 53.66% to 46.34%.

The other states where marriage equality also passed currently indicate that in Maine Question 1 passed 52.59% to 47.41% (369,220 to 332,904 although bizarrely the Maine Secretary of State does not have easily accessible online election results in 2012? #FAIL!). In Maryland Question 6 passed 52.4% to 47.6% (1,373,504 to 1,246,045).

In Minnesota, the attempt to amend the state constitution to prohibit marriage equality failed when only 47.44% of the total votes cast were in favor of the measure, with 1,510,434 No votes and 1,399,916 Yes votes.

I find it fascinating that there are millions and millions of people who voted for marriage equality this year. (Of course in 2008, there were even more people who voted for marriage equality by voting No on Proposition 8 but there were even more millions who voted against it.)

The New U.S. Map Of Marriage Equality

The New York Times reports on the current map for marriage equality and analyzes what is in store in the near future for marriage equality in the United States:

Nine states and Washington, D.C., have now legalized same-sex marriage. Though it remains unpopular in the South, rights campaigners see the potential for legislative gains in Delaware; Hawaii; Illinois; Rhode Island; Minnesota, where they beat back a restrictive amendment last Tuesday; and New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in February.
[...]
Beyond seeking repeal of Oregon’s marriage amendment, rights activists feel they can win in a repeat ballot in California if the courts do not first invalidate Proposition 8, the 2008 referendum that banned same-sex marriage, but faces a legal challenge.

It is true that the next bridge to cross will be the repeal of a previously passed constitutional ban on marriage equality. It is likely that will either happen in Oregon or California.

If the courts don't eliminate Proposition 8 for us first I would support going forward with a ballot measure to repeal it in 2014, as long as my three previous pre-conditions are met (polling showing support for marriage equality at 50% above the margin of error, significant cash on hand for the campaign at the beginning and a comprehensive, inclusive plan for how the organization running the campaign would be structured and managed).

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Queer Quote: Legalizing Gay Marriage & Marijuana

This funny comment is going viral on the interwebs:

It all makes sense now: Gay marriage legalized on the same day as marijuana makes perfect biblical sense. Leviticus 20:13 "A man who lays with another man should be stoned". Our interpretation has just been wrong for all these years.

The quote is attributed to Katie Stephens and appeared on George Takei's Facebook stream.

Queer Quote: Frank Schubert Reacts To Epic Fail

Frank Schubert is the man behind the anti-gay, deceptive ads promoting the heterosexual supremacist position on all four ballot measures in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and Washington.
After losing all four ballot measures, Schubert issued an official statement which  is today's "Queer Quote":

"I am, of course, very disappointed with the very narrow defeat it appears we’ve suffered in each of these four states. It appears that we have lost by a point or two in each state. It’s important to consider that these battles occurred in a very difficult political landscape. We were contesting in four deep blue states and were outspent very badly in all of them – at least four-to-one, and greater in some states. I have to accept that losing in this very difficult political environment was always a real possibility. 

"I firmly reject the spin surely to come that this result signals a fundamental shift in American opinion in support of gay marriage. It means that we very narrowly lost four difficult contests in four very deep blue states after being badly outspent. Despite the outcome, I am extremely grateful to all the donors, volunteers, staff, vendors and committee members who were part of our team. I am honored to have played a role in these campaigns to preserve marriage in America. It is an institution worth defending, and I look forward to continuing to play a role in this historic debate." 

Of course you would probably continue the fight for discrimination too if you made more than $3 million this year alone!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

MN Anti-Gay Prop 8 Copycat Measure Defeated!

In a historic win, Minnesota voters rejected a ballot measure modeled after California's Proposition 8 to insert a discriminatory ban on marriage equality into their state constitution on Tuesday. For the second time in 33 electoral contests about same-sex marriage (Arizona in 2006 being the first) voters chose the pro-gay position despite misleading (and dishonest) appeals to voters by the coalition of religious extremists and heterosexual supremacists who oppose marriage equality nationwide and in individual states.

Polling right before the election indicated that the measure was likely to fail and the final results indicated that the pre-election polls were generally accurate:

Results on Minnesota's Amendment 1: 1,507,189 NO 51% to 1,400,668 YES (48%)

The opponents to the measure outraised the proponents $11 million to $5 million. Another key feature of Minnesota's battle was that the Yes vote needed to outnumber the number of no votes cast for Amendment 1 and all other races. In other words, the Yes votes needed to be a majority of all the votes cast in the election, which is substantially higher bar than that which occurred in other electoral contests over marriage equality in other states.

It was a big night for progressive causes in Minnesota with not only the anti-gay marriage amendment failing but so did a voter identification amendment and Democrats took control of both houses of the legislature following two years of a rancorous and divisive Republican majority. With a Democratic governor in Mark Dayton who supports marriage equality,  as well as a Democratic legislature, Minnesota may become a new flashpoint for passage of state recognition of same-sex couples in the form of civil marriage or civil unions in the next two years.

Congratulations to the North Star State!

0 Days Until Election: Obama 290, Romney 191

Today is election day and the TPM Electoral Scoreboard indicates that Obama-Biden will win the election with at least 290 electoral votes. The only undecided states at this time are Florida (29), Virginia (13) and North Carolina (15) with the only change from the electoral prediction I posted 2 days ago was that Virginia has slipped from being in the Blue column to the yellow column. The Romney-Ryan team has essentially been stuck at 191 electoral votes for the last week.

Happily, since Virginia's polls close at 7pm on election day it is very possible that the networks may be able to call these states rather early in the evening, and since Romney basically need to win all three of these states and flip a blue state red, the overall presidential election results may be known at that time.

That will not mean there will not be a lot more races to follow even after the presidential election is called. I will be interested in the four marriage initiative results (in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington), whether Tammy Baldwin gets elected to become the first lesbian U.S. Senator and what happens with important California propositions (Prop 30, 34 and 36).

What results are you looking out for in today's elections?