QUEER QUOTE: President-elect Trump Says His Position on Same-Sex Marriage is "Irrelevant"

Today's Queer Quote is from President-elect Donald Trump who  on said in an interview that aired on 60 Minutes last Sunday night that his position on marriage equality is "irrelevant" because the issue is "settled." He might want to alert Vice-President-elect Mike Pence of this public policy position.

This excerpt from the transcript of Trump's remarks regarding marriage equality are our Queer Quote for today:

LESLEY STAHL: Well, I guess the issue for them is marriage equality. Do you support marriage equality?
DONALD TRUMP: It---it's irrelevant because it was already settled. It's law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean it's done.
LESLEY STAHL: So, even if you appoint a judge that---
DONALD TRUMP: It's done.  It -- you have -- these cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They've been settled. And--I'm--I'm fine with that.

The National Organization for Marriage clearly doesn't agree with Trump that this issue is "settled." We shall see!

SCOTUS Denies NOM Request For Stay On Oregon Marriage Equality

Marriage equality came to Oregon on May 19 when openly gay federal district court judge Michael McSchane struck down the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The National Organization for Marriage was displeased with this and filed a motion to intervene in the case when the attorney general and governor of the state indicated they agreed with the decision, going to the extreme position of asking Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy to issue a stay while they appeal the decision of the court to deny their request to intervene in the case.

Today the United States Supreme Court denied NOM's motion for a stay so marriage equality is safe for the near and foreseeable future in Oregon, as well as 18 other states where marriage equality is the law of the land.

The appeal of the intervention denial now continues at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but same-sex couples will continue to be able to marry during the time that is happening. 

The 9th Circuit, which is hearing that appeal, denied NOM’s request to stop the trial court decision striking down the ban from going into effect during the appeal. NOM then went to Justice Anthony Kennedy to ask him to stop the marriages while that appeal is pending before the 9th Circuit. 

Kennedy, who hears procedural matters brought to the court from the 9th Circuit, referred the request to the full court, which denied the request without comment on Tuesday. 

NOM’s appeal of the denial to intervene is the only matter left pending in the case because Oregon state officials had not fought the lawsuit, having agreed with the plaintiffs that the ban is unconstitutional. They had said that they would not appeal the decision if U.S. District Court Judge Michael McShane struck down the ban.

The only state that has had marriage equality is California, and it has since had marriage equality restored since last summer's Supreme Court decision in Hollingsworth v Perry.

Hat/tip to Buzz Feed

Oregon Becomes 18th Marriage Equality State!

As widely expected, openly gay federal judge Michael McShane today issued the 13th federal ruling since last year's Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Windsor deciding in favor of marriage equality. The judge's 26 page decision in Geiger v. Kitzhaber was issued promptly at noon after an emergency stay in the proceedings filed by the National Organization for Marriage was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit.

The Washington Blade reports:

Neither the timing nor the outcome of the case was a surprise. On Friday, McShane had announced he would make his decision in the litigation on Monday at noon Pacific Time (3 pm local time). In fact, Oregon United for Marriage had planned media coverage for the ruling and same-sex couples marrying afterward over the weekend without knowing the decision.  

McShane also rules against the state ban on same-sex marriage after not a single party would defend the law in court. It’s the first time ever that no party defended a ban on same-sex marriage during the course of a lawsuit seeking marriage equality.  

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced in February the law was indefensible, as did attorneys for Multnomah County, who were also named as a defendant in the lawsuit and had pledged to hand out licenses to same-sex couples as soon as law was struck down. 

[...] 

Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage, Measure 38, is a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004 by a 57-43 margin. But public opinion on marriage equality in Oregon is just about reversed since that time. Last year, Public Policy Polling found that 54 percent of Oregon residents would vote to legalize same-sex marriage at the ballot. 

Marriages should begin shortly in Oregon, although typically a 3-day waiting period is required after getting a marriage license, it can be waived in extenuating circumstances.

The judge's ruling means that an expensive ballot measure campaign to overturn measure 36 will not be unnecessary.

Congratulations to Oregon to joining the rest of the West Coast in Marriage Equality!

QUEER QUOTE: Charles Cooper, Leading Anti-Gay Lawyer Has A Lesbian Daughter

Charles Cooper is one of the most famous and longest-serving opponents to same-sex marriage in the country. He is something like the "anti-Evan Wolfson." He represented Hawaii in the first major case where a state supreme court ruled that traditional marriage laws were discriminatory way back in 1993 and has been active in very many of the legal skirmishes around marriage equality ever since.

He is infamous for responding to U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's question of how exactly marriage is only for procreative purposes in the Proposition 8 trial in 2010 Cooper responded: "Your Honor, my answer is I don't know. I don't know." Cooper defended California's ban on same-sex marriage all the way to the United States Supreme Court, eventually losing in Hollingsworth v. Perry.

This week came word that even this venerable opponent of marriage equality is coming around to the side of equality and justice, atleast for members of his family. Apparently his daughter is a lesbian and she is going to be marrying her female partner soon and Cooper is delighted.

This rapprochement is today's Queer Quote:

“My daughter Ashley’s path in life has led her to happiness with a lovely young woman named Casey, and our family and Casey’s family are looking forward to celebrating their marriage in just a few weeks."

And so it goes, my gentle readers, and so it goes.

QUEER QUOTE: NOM Founder Thinks Nationwide Marriage Equality In 2 Years

Well, well! The heterosexual supremacists are in full despair as the writing on the wall becomes clearer and clearer that eventually marriage equality will be a nationwide reality in the United States. Maggie Gallagher is the co-founder of the National Organization of Marriage, the pre-eminent nationwide organization devoted to preserving the discriminatory status quo which has been repeatedly accused of being a front group for conservative religions like Mormonism and Catholicism.

Ever since the Supreme Court issued two amazing pro-LGBT decisions in summer 2013 with U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry Gallagher has been giving increasingly pessimistic about her sides chances. Recently she said the following which is today's Queer Quote:

"I believe the Supreme Court is going to impose gay marriage in all fifty states within the next two years. I think the battle's going to shift to religious liberty and we're gonna need politicians with backbone. What happened first in the gay marriage issue is liberals used their dominance in the mainstream media to persuade GOP pundits that they should be silent on the issue and retreat."

So, basically Gallagher and her fellow heterosexual supremacists realize that their standard non-sensical arguments against marriage equality have failed to persuade decision makers. They are instead trying to change the terrain of the battle over full LGBT equality to the area of religious freedom and "conscience."

As Jeremy Hooper at Good As You notes, by her own words Gallagher has undermined the rationale for why people should donate to support the organization she co-founded and led for so long. The National Organization for Marriage was created to fight marriage equality so that the co-founded just admitted defeat should be a fatal blow to the organization.

Queer Quote: Brian Brown Worries About New Mexico Getting Marriage Equality

Brian Brown is the President and primary spokesperson for the explicitly heterosexual supremacist organization, the National Organization for Marriage. Mr. Brown has been following developments in New Mexico and realizes that marriage equality is imminent. Unfortunately, his reaction is quite different from mine and is today's Queer Quote:

"The battle for marriage as God designed has come to The Land of Enchantment; and it's your turn to stand in the breach. Every person who believes marriage to be the union of one man and one woman needs to contact Governor Martinez today, urging her and her administration to give their full support to the defense of marriage. As you are probably aware, two men applied for a marriage license in Santa Fe County. A brave County Clerk refused to issue the license because she knew, as you do, that New Mexico's definition of marriage is the union of one man and one woman. As a result, these men have filed a lawsuit seeking to have New Mexico give legal recognition to same sex marriage. And yesterday the Santa Fe Commission voted to support this suit! We need the Governor to intervene because the State’s Attorney General is refusing to do so. In fact, the Attorney General has betrayed his oath of office by urging the Court to overturn New Mexico’s recognition of traditional marriage and legalize same-sex marriage."

New Mexico does not have a statutory or constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. This is why there are multiple petitions to the state Supreme Court to clarify the status of marriage equality in New Mexico.

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.

WATCH: New TV Ad Promoting Marriage Equality

This new television ad from the Respect for Marriage coalition was aired during today's edition of Meet The Press guest-hosted by NBC political Director Chuck Todd. There was a very interesting debate between National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown and MSNBC television host and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton on the question(s) the Supreme Court is wrestling with in deciding the gay marriage cases before it (DOMA and Proposition 8).

It was pretty shocking to see and hear Brown claiming that he understands what civil rights are and claiming that the right to marry for same-sex couples is not a civil right but is about the "redefinition of marriage." I thought Sharpton took exactly the right tack by pointing out that what is similar about the fights to legalize same-sex marriage and interracial marriage is that in both cases it was a battle against people who thought it is their right to define what rights other people should have. Sharpton also made the point that (obviously) the fight for same-sex marriage and the right to end anti-miscegenation laws are NOT identical fights, but that one can make analogies based on race and sex. Brown parroted his typical talking points about "marriage being an institution bringing together the two distinct halves of humanity together in a union in which children are a possibility." I think it is astonishing how often heterosexual supremacists talk about gender and sex when discussing marriage but yet want to claim that bans on marriage equality are not classifications based on gender.

Even Justice Anthony Kennedy wondered about that very thing this week in the Hollingsworth v. Perry oral arguments:

JUSTICE KENNEDY: Do you believe this can be treated as a gender-based classification?
MR. COOPER: Your Honor, I --
JUSTICE KENNEDY: It's a difficult question that I've been trying to wrestle with it.

Note that Mr. Cooper then said:

MR. COOPER: We do not think it is properly viewed as a gender-based classification. Virtually every appellate court, State and Federal, with one exception, Hawaii, in a superseded opinion, has agreed that it is not a gender-based classification, but I guess it is gender-based in the sense that marriage itself is a gendered institution, a gendered term, and so in the same way that fatherhood is gendered more motherhood is gendered, it's gendered in that sense.  

When even the heterosexual supremacists are admitting marriage is gender-based how long will it be before Courts do? We are all waiting with bated breath to see whether Justice Kennedy and the High Court will agree.

WATCH: Ad for Amazon Kindle Has Gay Surprise

This is a cute ad for Amazon's Kindle which features a surprise (with a gay twist) at the end. As more and more companies do this, the lies of heterosexual supremacists like the National Organization for Marriage will become even less believable (or palatable) and marriage equality will become more and more recognized as a simple fact of life, which of course it is in 10 states and counting.

Watch the ad, it's fun!

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

Support for Marriage Equality in France at 63%

The debate about marriage equality legislation in France is in full swing. A recent poll says that 63% of the French populace support "mariage homosexual" (i.e. gay marriage) and only 49% (a plurality) support adoption by same-sex couples.

The two sides have held very large rallies in Paris in the last few weeks, with the opponents of marriage equality holding one a few weeks ago that National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown attended.

This past weekend the marriage equality supporters held their rally, with an estimated 125,000 people in attendance.

Vive La France!

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!

Final Poll On MN Prop 8 Copycat Shows Defeat Likely

The final poll on the ballot measure which would amend the state constitution of Minnesota to insert a discriminatory clause declaring that "only a union of one man and woman shall be valid o recognized as a marriage" shows that the Proposition 8 copycat measure likely to be defeated, 52% No, 45% Yes, 3% Not Sure. These results are from PPP, a Democratic-leaning polling firm, which reports:


The more interesting findings on our final Minnesota poll deal with the state's high 
profile amendments to ban gay marriage and require voter identification. We find both 
narrowly trailing. 45% of voters say they'll vote for the gay marriage ban, compared to 
52% who are opposed to it. And 46% say they'll support the voter ID amendment to 51% 
who are opposed.  

The marriage amendment is trailing because of a massive generational divide. Seniors 
support it by a 57/40 margin but every other age group opposes it, including a 36/62 
margin against it among voters under 30. Republicans support it (79%) and Democrats 
oppose it (76%) in almost equal numbers, but independents tip the balance by opposing it 
41/55.


An interesting aspect of this latest poll is that the voter-id measure had long been though to pass but is now solidly behind. Perhaps some of this is the electorate turning against both high-profile ballot measures, which were put there by extremely conservative forces in the state.

This is good news to be sure, but it is astonishing that nearly $16 million dollars have been spent on a measure which if defeated would not change the fact that same-sex couples will still not be able to get married in Minnesota. (Enacting the measure would prevent courts from enacting same-sex marriage and would insure that in order for marriage equality to occur it would have to happen through federal courts or a future repeal of the state constitutional amendment if it were to pass.) The pro-equality side has raised $11 million dollars, with the anti-equality side reporting $5.1 million, a nearly 2-to-1 ratio for the "good guys" but still the measure is very very close. If Minnesota were to defeat the anti-gay constitutional amendment it would be historic, since 32 states have previously enacted anti-gay ballot measures since 1998.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

WATCH: A Clear, Logical Rebuttal of NOM's Anti-Gay Claims

This is another great video from Matt Baume at the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) completely demolishing the "arguments" made by the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM) in their latest video on marriage.

 Baume points out the multiple ways that NOM goes beyond the limit of reasoned political discourse into offensive, personal attacks on the dignity and self-worth of gay and lesbian couples.

 Check it out!

 Hat/tip to TowleRoad.

Queer Quote: Brian Brown

Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage and It Gets Better project founder Dan Savage sat down for dinner at Savage's home last week to debate marriage equality in the presence of a New York Times reporter. The entire debate was uploaded to YouTube.

During the debate the heterosexual supremacist Brown made the following self-unaware comment when responding to Savage's question about why NOM doesn't go after divorce as much as they do same-sex marriage:

"Just because you believe something is wrong, it doesn't mean that you make it illegal"

Exactly, Brian, exactly! So, why would you want to make same-sex marriage illegal even though you believe it is wrong? Get it? You yourself just made a statement which supports repealing Proposition 8!

NC's Amendment 1 Backers Fueled By Religious Dogma

The list of the top funders to the supporters of North Carolina's Amendment 1 has been revealed (By Good As You's Jeremy Hooper) and it is dominated by groups seething with unbridled homophobia and fuled by extreme religious dogma. Some of religious extremist and heterosexual supremacist groups that have poured tens of thousands of dollars in enacting their faith-based view of marriage on all citizens of North carolina regardless of religious belief are: Christian Action League ($300,000), National Organization for Marriage ($300,000), 2 Roman Catholic Dioceses ($50,000 each) et cetera, et cetera.





As Think Progress notes, this is not surprising because the entire argument of the proponents of the anti-gay Amendment 1 is based on the Bible (and one specific vision of faith and religion). Just look at their television ads, both of which mention "God" and depict the Bible.

It's a good thing we don't live in a theocracy, huh? What part of civil marriage do these people not understand?

NH House Defeats Marriage Equality Repeal Bill!

Great news from New Hampshire! Despite expectations that the Republican majority in the New Hampshire legislature would pass HB 437 to repeal that state's 2009 marriage equality law and that the fight would be over whether the heterosexual supremacists could override a promised veto from Democratic Governor John Lynch.

Instead, today the New Hampshire House voted 211-116 to defeat the bill, thus preserving the right of same-sex couples to receive civil marriage licenses in the Live Free or Die state.

The Washington Blade reports:

House bill 437, which would have prevented New Hampshire from recognizing any new same-sex marriages and revived the 2007 civil unions law in its place, was introduced last year by GOP Rep. Bates, along with 11 Republican co-sponsors. After the bill lost traction in the House last week, Bates introduced an amendment that would put a nonbinding question on the issue before voters in November, prior to the law’s official repeal date in March 2013, as well as have left intact the 2,000 existing same-sex marriages already recognized by the state, much like California’s post-Proposition 8 law that created, what advocates call 15,000 “limited edition” legally recognized same-sex marriages in that state. 

The floor amendment, meant to give the law a better chance of surviving a veto, failed to be adopted after a vote of 162-188, leaving the bill less likely to become law in the long run. 

After a failed first vote on returning to civil unions, the legislature voted to divide the combined civil unions-referendum amendment into separate issues, an effort that also failed on a vote of 128 to 222. 

[...] 

Countering the call for a ballot initiative, Rep. Steve Murphy (R- Bedford) declared, “The rights of the people are not subject to popular vote.”Earlier, the initial vote on the civil unions amendment — prior to the multiple votes to reconsider — failed on a vote of 82 to 266.

This is great news! It just goes to show the extent to which heterosexual supremacists like the National Organization for Marriage is losing the fight against marriage equality nationwide. NOM abandoned any pretense of principle and actually announced their support for the version of HB 437 which would have (re)enacted civil unions in New Hampshire, which is in direct contravention with public announcements they made against civil unions legislation in Illinois.

As I predicted earlier this year, in 2013 there will be more Americans living in jurisdictions where marriage equality is legal than there is right now, despite the efforts of NOM and other heterosexual supremacists to force ballot measures on these issues in Washington, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Maine.

New Jersey Senate Passes Marriage Equality 24-16

What a difference two years makes in the kulturkampf over civil marriage equality. In January 2010 the New Jersey Senate defeated a marriage equality vote by a vote of 14-20, denying lame duck governor Jon Corzine a chance to sign the measure into law and giving Governor-elect Chris Christie his first legislative victory.

Yesterday the New Jersey senate passed a new marriage equality bill by a vote of 24-16, just three votes short of a veto proof majority, which they have until the end of the current legislative session in January 2014 to get. Republican Governor Chris Christie, who is up for re-election in November 2013 has vowed to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk despite overwhelming public support in recent polls. He, bizarrely, has called for a public referendum on the question of equal marriage rights for all, revealing his disdain for and ignorance of the civil rights tradition in this country. New Jersey does not have a large history of referenda; the last time there was a referendum on civil rights the gentle citizens of the Garden State voted in 1910 to continue denying women the right to vote.

On Thursday the New Jersey Assembly is expected to pass the marriage equality and send it to Gov. Christie for his enthusiastic veto. Then the fun will begin to see if the votes to override his veto can be found in both houses.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0

WATCH: Evan Wolfson Destroys NOM Tool In Debate

As you now, New Jersey's legislature is currently debating (again!) whether to pass a marriage equality bill despite a veto threat from the Republican governor of the state, Chris Christie, who said that he wants a public referendum of the people to vote on the measure. There has been a heated debate on both sides about the principle of voting on the fundamental civil rights of a minority group, with the marriage equality supporters opposed and the heterosexual supremacists in favor.
This weekend Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson and National Organization for Marriage spokesperson Brian Broen appeared on a local television station and Mr. Wolfson proceeded to demolish Mr. Brown in one-on-one verbal combat on live television, ruthlessly. It is truly a delight to watch. Evan is astonishingly good at this, and I think he's even getting better at it!

College Frosh Overwhelmingly Support Marriage Equality

Interesting news about how badly heterosexual supremacists like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) are losing the cultural war on marriage equality with the next generation. A new survey of incoming freshman students at the nation's college from the prestigious Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA shows overwhelming (and increasing) support for marriage equality among college students:

An unprecedented 71.3 percent of incoming college students indicated that same-sex couples should have the right to legal marital status, compared with 64.9 percent in 2009, a remarkable 6.4 percentage-point increase over a two-year period. While support for same-sex marriage is highest among female students and those who identify as liberal, a significant amount of conservative students (42.8 percent) and an increasing number of male students (64.1 percent in 2011 vs. 56.7 percent in 2009) expressed support for this issue.

And they are not just liberal on marriage equality but other important issues:

Students also demonstrated more progressive attitudes about policies that give students from disadvantaged backgrounds preferential treatment in college admissions. Despite the increasingly competitive admissions environment, which has resulted in fewer students gaining acceptance to their first-choice college (76.0 percent in 2011 vs. 78.9 percent in 2010), the number of students supporting preferential treatment in college admissions rose from 37.4 percent in 2009 to 42.1 percent in 2011, a 4.7 percentage-point increase. 

In another finding with important implications in the current political climate, fewer students said they believe that undocumented students should be denied access to public education. Since the question was last asked in 2009, opposition to educational access for these students dropped by 4.2 percentage points, from 47.2 percent to 43.0 percent in 2011. While liberal students are much more likely to support undocumented students' access to education, 39.0 percent of conservative students also indicated their support. 

I often wonder why people like NOM are fighting so fanatically to deny equal marriage rights to same-sex couples when the writing has been on the wall for years that the public opinion is rapidly moving against them and that eventually no one will care about this issue because marriage will be open to all committed couples.

Why do you think people are fighting to maintain a discriminatory policy that they must know will be swept away in the sands of time eventually?

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress.

Microsoft Endorses WA Marriage Equality Bill

Good news! Microsoft corporation, one of the largest employers in the state of Washington and still one of the leading tech companies in the world, has endorsed marriage equality legislation currently pending in their state's legislature.

In a posting on its website, Microsoft said:

“Microsoft’s greatest asset is a talented workforce as diverse as our customers. As other states recognize marriage equality, Washington’s employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, equitable and inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families. This legislation would put Washington employers on equal footing with employers in the six other states that already recognize the committed relationships of same-sex couples. Passing the bill would be good for our business and for the state’s economy.”

This is excellent news and is another measure of the growing momentum for the legislation to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from civil marriage in the state of Washington.

According to Dan Savage's The Slog, Washington State marriage equality advocates are now just one vote short of having a majority of Senators as publicly declared in support of voting for SB 6239, the legislative vehicle which was introduced and endorsed by the state's governor, Chris Gregoire.

There are still 5 Washington State Senators who are undeclared on marriage equality. Let them know your thoughts on SB 6239, especially if you live in Washington state.