marriage equality

Adorable Gay Men get marriage license

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Via the Maddow Blog – Pic: Way past wonderful – The Maddow Blog, these two adorable gay men are applying for a marriage license in Washington:

Randy and Larry Get Married

Randy and Larry Get Married

One month after Washington State voters approved the state’s marriage equality law in Ref. 74, same-sex couples get marriage licenses for the first time on December 6th, 2012. At around 1:30am, Larry Duncan, 56, left, and Randy Shepherd, 48, from North Bend, Wash. got their marriage license. The two plan to wed on December 9th, the first day it is possible for them to wed in a church in Washington State. They have been together for 11 years. Originally from Dallas, Texas, they moved here 7 years ago because it’s more gay friendly. Randy is a computer programer and Larry is a retired psychology nurse.

That is very sweet, and totally different than the story that I made up for them which was this:

I love these two dudes. They look like two hunting buddies who spent so much time out in the woods together, that they were like “Larry. Let’s get married so we can spend all of our time hunting in the woods together. I love hunting in the woods with you. We could hang out in the woods all day, and cuddle up in two sleeping bags zipped together at night, next to the fire.” And Larry says, “Randy, that sounds lovely. I will make you coffee in the morning, and s’mores at night, and we will kill some deer and eat them, along with a salad that I’ll make you, because we need vegetables.” And Randy says “Cool, we’ll get a marriage certificate, then. We live in Washington, so we can.”

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links for 2011-08-25

  • Indiana stage collapse lawsuits could challenge state's rules on gay marriage | WBEZ
    Attorney Kenneth Allen said his clients were recently married in Hawaii, a state that allows same sex civil unions. Beth Urschel was injured in the stage collapse. Her spouse, Tammy VanDam, died from the incident. Allen said the lawsuits address a legal gray area in Indiana. "Tammy was her wife and Beth is entitled to be treated as any spouse should be treated: fairly, equitably and justly under the law," he said Monday. "That's something we intend to challenge because as it stands now, Indiana law does not recognize her as a spouse and we expect to change that."
    (tags: gayMarriage Indiana law equaity)
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U.S. District Court Decision: Perry v. Schwarzenegger

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The whole document it’s entirety, courtesy of the New York Times. There is some scrumptious reading here; things that just make me giddy with glee.

“Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”

also:

“Proposition 8 was premised on the belief that same-sex couples simply are not as good as opposite-sex couples. Whether that belief is based on moral disapproval of homosexuality, animus towards gays and lesbians or simply a belief that a relationship between a man and a woman is inherently better than a relationship between two men or two women, this belief is not a proper basis on which to legislate.”

and these:

“Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and women.”
“Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions.”

“The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent.”

“Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.”

“That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as ‘fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.'”

Heaven.

Continue ReadingU.S. District Court Decision: Perry v. Schwarzenegger

Prop 8 Overturned by Federal Court

According to MSNBC news services:

SAN FRANCISCO — In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, violates due process and equal-protection rights under the U.S. Constitution.

…

“Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians. The evidence shows conclusively that Proposition 8 enacts, without reason, a private moral view that same-sex couples are inferior to opposite-sex couples,” Walker wrote.

The judge added in the conclusion of the 136-page opinion: “Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license.”

His ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by two same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco seeking to invalidate the law as an unlawful infringement on the civil rights of gay men and lesbians. The landmark case is expected to be appealed and could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is really great news – baby steps, but definitely steps. One day our marriage might actually be recognized in our own country and home state.

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Mixed emotions

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So many reasons to be happy, and yet…

California and Prop 8 is still to close to call. And as the NY Times explains — “Ban-gay-marriage amendments were approved in Arizona and Florida, and gay rights forces suffered a loss in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target.” Such a great day for the entire country, but such a crappy day for gay people. Like Charlie Brown on Halloween. Nothing but rocks.

And there’s this other looming thing that I haven’t yet written about — my mom lost her job last week, and is in a pretty dire situation financially. We’re worried about her losing her house. President Obama sounds great. But it won’t immediately fix this problem that has me lying awake at night. So I’m thrilled, but still pretty frantic.

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How to Get Married in Toronto, ON

Wil asked how we went about setting up our marriage in Toronto, and I realized I never really blogged about that in the rush of planning everything. It was a very simple process, in two parts — applying for the license and having the ceremony.

First you apply for the marriage license. You fill out a very simple form for that – it’s available online as a PDF download, but is also available in city hall on the first floor, where they process the applications. The cost of the license is $140 or so. They require ID – I believe we gave them our passports, but driver’s license works also. We went to city hall and turned in our application an hour or so before the ceremony was scheduled, and they gave our our license. The website to download the license application is here: http://tinyurl.com/hmyn7

Once you have the license, you have to have a ceremony to “solemnize” the marriage. We had ours done in the wedding chambers upstairs on the 3rd floor of city hall. You have to arrange the ceremony in advance by calling, and they book you into an appointment. You give them a deposit of $95 when you make the arrangements over the phone, and the rest ($130?) before the ceremony. There’s a website for booking ceremonies in the wedding chambers: http://www.marryus.org/

The most difficult part was finding witnesses because we had to find someone around city hall to ask, but it can’t be a city employee. But in the end, the office found them for us – they were the couple getting married just after us.

Continue ReadingHow to Get Married in Toronto, ON