Free Republic

SEATTLE, Washington, July 25, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Permitting same-sex “marriages” could lead to a serious loss of religious freedom, Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett warned Thursday in a legal brief filed in the ongoing battle over the state’s ban on homosexual “marriages.” The court hearing the case, however, rejected the brief on account of the fact that it comes over a year too late; oral arguments were heard in the state Supreme Court in March 2005. The archbishop was finally convinced to file the brief after witnessing the legalization of homosexual "marriage" in other states and its possible legal ramifications on...

The state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on gay marriage Wednesday, saying lawmakers have the power to restrict marriage to unions between a man and woman. The 5-4 decision leaves Massachusetts as the only state to grant full marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples. It was the latest in a series of significant court rulings favoring gay marriage opponents. Nineteen gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry had challenged the constitutionality of Washington's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act law, which limits marriage to heterosexual couples. Judges in King and Thurston counties overturned it in 2004, citing the state constitution's...

Washington Supreme Court has issued ruling upholding Washington State's BAN on Gay Marriage

MADISON, WI (AP) -- A Madison philanthropist has given $275,000 of her personal fortune to try to defeat a state ban on gay marriage and civil unions, according to a filing made public on Friday. Dale Leibowitz was the largest donor to Fair Wisconsin, the political action committee leading the charge against the constitutional amendment that appears on the ballot on Nov. 7, according to the group's campaign finance report. Other major donations to the group included $80,000 from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, and $25,000 from the state teachers' union, the filing with the...

Losing the Marriage Debate It’s no secret that liberals hold in contempt what they regard as the provincial nature of conservatives. And I certainly would love to buy liberals for what I think they’re worth and sell them for what they think they’re worth, to paraphrase the old retort. That said, a part of me is so frustrated with my traditionalist brethren that I could almost be persuaded that the left is, in some minute measure, correct. For the sagacity reflected in our ends is matched by the stupidity of our means. And the left is quite the opposite. I...

Nurses union sues over health benefits for same-sex spouse BOSTON- The Massachusetts Nurses Association filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to overturn an arbitration award that denied health insurance benefits to the same-sex spouse of a registered nurse. Maria Ciulla, a nurse who works at Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, married her lesbian partner on Oct. 1, 2005, more than a year after Massachusetts became the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. A few days later, she asked the hospital to add her spouse to her Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy, but the hospital denied her request. In...

Same-sex ban looks likely to succeed, but effects debated - NASHVILLE - Campaigns are being organized on both sides of a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would forbid same-sex marriages as politicians debate whether it will have an impact on other elections. The state Supreme Court last week rejected a legal effort by the American Civil Liberties Union to block a November vote on the constitutional amendment. The opposing sides had already laid the groundwork for campaigns, but they are now getting under way in earnest. Randy Tarkington of Nashville, campaign manager for the lead organization opposing the...

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election. The 236-187 vote for the proposal to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman was 47 short of the two-thirds majority needed to advance a constitutional amendment. It followed six weeks after the Senate also decisively defeated the amendment, a top priority of social conservatives. But supporters said the vote will make a difference when people got to the polls in November....

House Republicans To Vote On Amendment Banning Gay Marriage Washington D.C. (AHN) - House Republicans are going ahead to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday as part of a week in which House GOP leaders plan to focus on what they call their "American values agenda." In one of his weekly radio addresses, President Bush said changing the Constitution is necessary because "activist judges and some local officials have made an aggressive attempt to redefine marriage in recent years. Last month, the Senate was short of the 11 of the 60...

LINCOLN, Neb. - A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that struck down Nebraska's same-sex marriage ban. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reversed an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon, who ruled last year that the measure was too broad and deprived gays and lesbians of participation in the political process, among other things. Seventy percent of Nebraska voters approved the amendment in 2000. The court said the amendment "and other laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests and therefore do not violate...

Lincoln, NE - A federal appeals court has reversed a ruling that stuck down Nebraska's same-sex marriage ban. U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon ruled last year that the measure was too broad and deprived homosexuals of participation in the political process. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed that ruling. Nebraska voters approved the amendment by 70% in 2000. The Court said the amendment "and other laws limiting the state-recognized institution of marriage to heterosexual couples are rationally related to legitimate state interests and therefore do not violate the Constitution of the United States." Liberty Counsel filed a brief...

Next week the House of Representatives will be voting on the Marriage Protection Amendment, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman. Our opponents say there is no need for this amendment because the states will do it, and they cite last week’s New York Court of Appeals decision supporting heterosexual marriage as evidence. Well, they’re wrong. Yes, the Court of Appeals in New York did uphold New York’s law limiting marriage to one man and one woman. But in holding that there was a “rational basis” for this, the New York court is swimming against the...

Connecticut Judge Rules Against Homosexual Couples' Demand for “Marriage” Title HARTFORD, Connecticut, July 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Homosexual couples will not be granted the right to “marry” in Connecticut, a Superior Court judge decided Wednesday, despite their possessing the same rights and protections as married couples under the state civil union law. Judge Patty Jenkins ruled against eight same-sex couples who filed suit against the state in August 2004 after being denied marriage licenses. They were seeking the right to legally marry, the Hartford Courant reported today. Judge Jenkins said Connecticut’s civil union law, which took effect in October 2005,...

It's Not all Rosy in Massachusetts, Despite Pro-Marriage Court Ruling (AgapePress) - An attorney for the American Family Association says a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) will not nullify current same-sex "marriages," regardless what happens in 2008. And comments from two of the SJC justices indicate they would not be inclined to reverse their earlier decision legalizing those marriages -- even if voters were to approve a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage. The same Massachusetts court that legalized homosexual marriage in 2004 ruled unanimously on Monday (July 10) that a proposed amendment to the state constitution banning...

Should California law define marriage as only between a man and a woman?

New York and Georgia courts will be on the wrong side of history of gay marriage.THE HIGHEST COURTS of New York and Georgia last week moved in the opposite direction of history and justice on same-sex marriage. By a 4-2 vote, the NY Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the state Legislature's limitation of marriage to heterosexual couples was a "long-accepted restriction" not based solely on "ignorance and prejudice against homosexuals." Adding insult to injury, an opinion signed by three of the judges in the majority ruled that it was rational for the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage in the...

Gays want rights if not acceptance I was pleased to hear the governor say that gay people are free to live their lives in Georgia. Thank goodness I don't have to leave the state after paying taxes here for 25 years. The governor left no doubt, however, that I am in fact still a second-class citizen. Despite those 25 years of tax paying and eight years with my partner, we do not have the same rights as a heterosexual couple who have been married for one day. To Gov. Sonny Perdue, the Supreme Court of Georgia, and the people who...

WHEN THE Massachusetts Legislature meets in joint session as a constitutional convention this week, the most notable item on its agenda will be a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage. A record-breaking 170,000 registered voters have signed petitions to put such an amendment on the state ballot. But the Massachusetts Constitution mandates a detour: The measure must first win the support of at least 50 lawmakers in two consecutive legislative terms. Only then can it be submitted to the people. If the amendment gets past every hurdle, it will reach the ballot in November 2008. It is a deliberately long...

In nearly two years since John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney took part in this city's same-sex marriage rebellion, the couple has filed three rounds of tax returns, buried a mother, vacationed in Europe and attended five weddings - four involving a bride and a groom. These are the typical joys, sorrows and rituals of couples who have been together for nearly two decades. Yet for Lewis and Gaffney, one of 4,037 pairs whose San Francisco-issued marriage licenses were invalidated by the California Supreme Court, daily domesticity also brings reminders of the legal rights they do not have and are suing...

Two rogue activist judges on lower courts in the states of New York and Georgia got the surprise slapped out of them this week. It's about time! Judge Doris Ling-Cohen of New York and Constance Russell of Georgia were sent stinging rebukes by their state's highest courts, and in cases that will be watched by other high court's in New Jersey, California and perhaps most importantly Washington. These women were given very clear lessons in judicial clarity and "We the People" rejoiced! ................... Judge Ling-Cohen knew when she issued the decision to allow marriage to be redefined in New York...

R. S. SMITH, J.:We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature.Facts and Procedural History Plaintiffs and petitioners (hereafter plaintiffs) are the members of 44 same-sex couples. Each couple tried unsuccessfully to obtain a marriage license. Plaintiffs then began these four lawsuits, seeking declaratory judgments that the restriction of marriage to opposite-sex couples is invalid under the State Constitution. Defendants and respondents (hereafter defendants) are the license-issuing authorities of New York City, Albany and Ithaca;...

On the Virginia ballot this November 7 ....... VAforMarriage.org, http://www.va4marriage.org/index.html , is a non-partisan state ballot committee dedicated to passing a state constitutional amendment in Virginia defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Visit http://www.va4marriage.org/index.html and join the campaign today!

Join the campaign to pass a state marriage amendment in South Carolina this November. SCforMarriage.org, http://www.scformarriage.org, is a non-partisan state ballot committee dedicated to passing a state constitutional amendment in South Carolina defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Visit http://www.scformarriage.org and join the campaign today!

Taking on Governor Mitt Romney and the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, 165 prominent business and civic leaders are publicly calling for the Legislature to reject a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The group, which includes leading bankers, healthcare executives, lawyers, and leaders of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, has purchased an ad in The Boston Globe that says the amendment would "take away rights." It urges lawmakers to "move on to other important issues like strengthening the economy, improving our schools, and protecting our neighborhoods." [...] The amendment needs the support of 50 lawmakers during the current and...

Breaking news. Headline only.

ALBANY -- New York's highest court ruled Thursday that gay marriage is not allowed under state law. The Court of Appeals in a 4-2 decision rejected arguments from gay and lesbian plaintiffs throughout the state that their inability to get marriage licences in New York violated their constitutional rights. Judge Robert Smith said New York's marriage law clearly limits marriage to between a man and a woman and any change in the law should come from the state Legislature.

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 484(Republicans in roman; Democrats in italic; Independents underlined)       H J RES 106      2/3 YEA-AND-NAY      30-Sep-2004      5:25 PM       QUESTION:  On Passage       BILL TITLE: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to marriage Yeas Nays PRES NV Republican 191 27   9 Democratic 36 158   11 Independent   1     TOTALS 227 186   20 ---- YEAS    227 --- Aderholt Akin Alexander Bachus Baker Ballenger Barrett (SC) Bartlett (MD) Barton (TX) BeauprezBerry BilirakisBishop (GA) Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blunt Boehner Bonilla Bonner BoozmanBoucherBoyd Bradley (NH) Brady (TX) Brown (SC) Brown-Waite, Ginny Burgess Burns Burr Burton (IN) Buyer...

ALBANY, N.Y. - The top courts in two states dealt setbacks to the gay marriage movement Thursday, with New York's highest court ruling same-sex unions are not allowed under state law and the Georgia Supreme Court reinstating a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. In New York, the Court of Appeals said in a 4-2 decision that the state's marriage law is constitutional and clearly limits marriage to a union between a man and a woman. Any change in the law would have to come from the state Legislature, Judge Robert Smith said. "We do not predict what people will think...

Details to come.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York State Court of Appeals refused to recognize same-sex marriage in a ruling issued on Thursday, saying the issue was a question for the Legislature to decide. The New York case involved 48 gay and lesbian couples who filed four separate cases seeking to overturn as unconstitutional a 97-year-old state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman. The couples claimed the law violated their constitutional rights because it defended sex discrimination. The cases were heard together by the court in Albany. "We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel...

The New York Court of Appeals ruled this morning that the state Constitution does not guarantee a right to marriage for same-sex couples, and that state lawmakers, not the courts, are better suited to consider the issue. In a 4-2 decision that has been eagerly awaited by both sides in the gay marriage debate, the court, the highest in the state's judiciary system, concluded that the legislature could have "a rational basis" for limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, in large part because of their ability to bear children. The court did not rule that the state should not or could...

Inaction aborts gay-marriage bill Lawmakers fail to agree on amendment For now, Pennsylvania will not join 20 states that have put gay marriage bans into their state constitutions. The Legislature left Harrisburg early Sunday without coming to an agreement on the wording of a proposed amendment to restrict the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Social conservatives pushed for the amendment out of fear a court might rule the state's 10-year-old marriage-protection law unconstitutional, as has occurred in other states. Such a ruling could clear the way for gay and lesbian unions. Lawmakers' failure...

PHOENIX -- Foes of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage are accumulating a larger warchest than proponents. New financial disclosure forms show that Arizona Together, the group organized to fight the initiative, has collected more than $523,000 so far. Even with expenses to set up two statewide offices, hire consultants and rent, it still had $244,187 on hand at the end of May, the most recent figures available. By contrast, donations to Protect Marriage Arizona as of that same May 31 date tallied $377,155. But with expenses to gather signatures using paid circulators and other consultant fees, the group...

Approaching the verdant valley with its cornfields, tiny meandering creek, and the old farmhouse brought back so many memories; in fact this valley is filled with memories of the long-gone laughter of children playing and of a family working together. The hills echo with the shouts of Frank Smith and the boys as they called across the hills to tell Mom they were on the way home for lunch in a time gone by. It holds memories for me too; 40-some years ago I came down the same road to meet my husband’s parents for the first time. The final...

Rhode Island gay couple asks Massachusetts court to let them marry [JURIST] A same-sex couple argued in court in Boston Monday that a 1913 Massachusetts law [text] should not prevent them from marrying in the state because statutes in their home state of Rhode Island do not explicitly ban gay marriage. Mary Norton and Mary Becker [GLAD profiles], represented by an attorney with the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) [advocacy website], said the law prohibiting same-sex couples from pursuing a marriage in Massachusetts does not apply to Rhode Island residents [GLAD legal brief, PDF] because there is no...

Constitutional Convention? Supporters of a constitutional amendment to keep the courts from legalizing homosexual marriage, stunned by poor support in the recent Senate vote, are beginning a campaign for a constitutional convention. The provision of the Constitution's Article V requiring such a convention if called by two-thirds of the state legislatures has never been used. Fear of throwing the Constitution open to general amendment has overridden support for specific issues. However, key advocates of barring gay marriages believe the constitutional convention strategy will keep the issue alive. A recent memo circulated within the anti-gay marriage coalition lists Princeton Professor Robby...

Pro: Amendment needed to prevent courts from nullifying will of 45 states The writer is addressing the question, "Should Congress continue to pursue a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman?" WASHINGTON - The United States needs to nail down the definition of marriage and its singular role in our culture. The most recent attempt, the Marriage Protection Amendment, was poorly worded and it went down to defeat in the Senate, but a new amendment should already be on the drawing board. A constitutional amendment is required because one state legislator or a few judges...

Senate passes marriage amendment HARRISBURG — The Senate and House are divided on language to ban gay marriage in the state Constitution, and the long-term political ramifications of their efforts could be huge. If the chambers agree on a plan soon, it could sway the election for the next U.S. president, analysts and critics say. The Senate approved the latest version of a proposed constitutional amendment yesterday by a vote of 38-12, with Lebanon County Sen. David J. Brightbill voting for it. It kicks back to the House, which approved a different version two weeks ago. The chambers disagree on...

BYU fires teacher over op-ed stance Same-sex marriage: His idea that church leaders are misguided didn't sit well PROVO - As an American citizen, Jeffrey Nielsen felt compelled to publicly question the LDS Church's opposition to same-sex marriage. As a Brigham Young University instructor, he now is paying the price. The LDS-owned school will not rehire Nielsen after spring term because of his remarks in an op-ed piece earlier this month. "I believe opposing gay marriage and seeking a constitutional amendment against it is immoral," the part-time philosophy teacher and practicing Latter-day Saint wrote in the June 4 Salt Lake...

Pennsylvania Senate Committee Approves Weakened Same-Sex Marriage Bill (CNSNews.com) - Pennsylvania's Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved a ban on same-sex marriage, but conservatives say they weakened the bill by changing the language to allow civil unions between homosexuals. "If the Senate is not willing to deal with the issue of marriage in its entirety - same-sex marriage and civil unions - then they send the clear message to their constituents that they are not willing to take the tough stand necessary to protect one man one woman marriage," said American Family Association of Pennsylvania President Diane Gramley. According to...

Northern Virginians concerned by efforts to redefine marriage as something other than 'one man, one woman' are encouraged to get involved with a coalition of organizations involved in defense of the proposed Marriage Amendment to the Virginia Constitution. Please visit us at www.nova4marriage.org

Thanks EJ Dionne, for explaining to me that I’ve been used again. The entire week surrounding the vote on the Marriage Amendment, social conservatives were treated to liberal commentary like yours claiming that Republicans were cynically distracting the country from more important issues, like Social Security and repealing the estate tax. According to you and your liberal colleagues, I shouldn’t care about social conservative issues, like gay marriage or abortion. I should really care about George Bush selling me out for issues like “privatizing Social Security and cutting taxes on rich people.” I’m sorry to have to tell you this,...

Sen. Ted Kennedy, the notoriously outspoken solon from the Bay State, is never shy about passing judgment on anyone who deigns to view an issue opposite that of his perspective. He takes delight in impugning the integrity of those across the ideological aisle. (See Bork, Robert: Senate floor speech on Bork nomination to Supreme Court, 1987.) Well, he's done it again, in reference to the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. In an op-ed published in his hometown newspaper, Kennedy referred to the ban as "bigotry, pure and simple." His hyperbole went as far as to claim that an amendment...

State files brief in gay marriage appeal ATLANTA - The ballot measure approved by voters banning same sex marriage in Georgia does not violate the state's constitution, state lawyers argued in a brief filed with the Georgia Supreme Court. In May, Superior Court Judge Constance Russell, of Fulton County, tossed out the constitutional amendment, which 76 percent of voters had approved in 2004. She did not rule on issues related to gay marriage, but held instead that the measure violated the single-subject rule mandated by the state Constitution by asking voters to consider both same-sex marriage and civil unions. The...

I would like to offer a thought: the only reason that we are in this situation with gay marriage is that we have a perverted legal class. Please follow me: it is reasonable for the Court to examine Acts of Congress or of the President to see if these fall within the range of their enumerated powers. It is also reasonable to assume that, legislators being mere mortals after all, that any law may have implied penumbras if said law is to function according to original intent, or even function at all. Further, it is reasonable at assert when laws...

Courts allowing gay marriage may help opponents' cause After being rebuffed in the U.S. Senate, some opponents of gay marriage think losing a court case might help their case to ban same-sex unions across the country. High courts in New Jersey, New York and Washington state are deliberating cases in which gay and lesbian couples argue their state constitutions give them the right to marry. Similar lawsuits are working their way through the court systems in California, Connecticut, Iowa and Maryland. "If any of those courts mandate genderless marriage, you're going to have folks on the other side saying, 'This...

Same-sex marriage ultimate social engineering "DEARLY beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God and before these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony." So begins most "traditional" marriage ceremonies in Western culture for as long as anyone can remember. Now we are told such exclusivity of preserving marriage for men and women "discriminates" against people of the same sex who wish to "marry" each other. Some forms of discrimination are good, because they send a signal and provide an example that certain behavior is to be preferred over other behaviors for the betterment...

By Maurine Jensen ProctorHearing the Senate debate that ended in knocking the Marriage Protection Amendment down this round has been a little like watching a magician who tries to keep your eyes focused on his right hand, while he hides the card in his left. The opponents had a script repeated with few variations, whose lines were designed to skirt the substance of the issue, and chill debate.  Yet, redefining marriage is a serious business, whose implications nobody can entirely predict.  Surely this warrants thoughtful debate.Americans deserve better than the scripted rebuffs they received from those who opposed the...

On Wednesday the Senate fell 18 votes short of the two-thirds majority that would have been required to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The mainstream media joined Sen. Edward Kennedy in calling the entire debate a distraction from the nation's business and a wedge with which to divide Americans. Since the main business of Congress is to devise ever more ingenious ways (earmarked and non-earmarked) to waste taxpayers' money, any distraction from the main business is welcome. As for dividing Americans, who came up with the idea of radically altering the most ancient of all social institutions in...

New York County First to Order Recognition of Gay “Marriages” WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 9, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Westchester County in New York State now recognizes gay marriages, after county executive Andrew Spano issued an order Wednesday, making the county the first in the state to do so. New York City and several other municipalities already extend recognition to homosexual marriages. Homosexual couples will receive the same county privileges as heterosexual couples, including the right to purchase family passes to county parks and the right to emergency family housing, reported the AP yesterday. “I don’t see why people, just because...