Gay Weddings are Good for Business

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 14

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, May 14, 2010

There's lots of movement around the U.S. in regards to gay marriage legislation....here's the latest!

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which states that the Federal Government does not recognize gay marriage performed by individual states, is being challenged by GLAD, the attorneys behind the case which first legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts. This is notable because DOMA affects just about everything else I'm talking about below...
Senator Harry Reid's immigration reform framework includes a proposal which would allow American partners of immigrants to sponsor the immigrant for citizenship. This is a reaction to the Defense of Marriage Act.
Time Magazine wrote an interesting article about the gay divorce cases in Texas which may accidentally end up legalizing gay marriage in that state.
A great article explaining the confusion around how same-sex couples can be married in one state and not married in another.
Seton Hall University is offering a political science course on gay marriage. This is notable because Seton Hall is a Catholic university.
The Governor of Hawaii is still undecided on whether she will sign the civil unions bill, says it's very much the equivalent to same-sex marriage (which she doesn't support).
Four couples in Minnesota filed a lawsuit seeking gay marriage. Its chances of being approved are slim and other marriage equality activists are afraid the timing is off and the backlash could result in an outright ban.
New York City, which has a domestic partnership registry, now will offer a civil ceremony as part of the registry service at City Hall. Note that this is different than legal gay marriage but is intended as a symbolic gesture.

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 12

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, April 16, 2010

Though not directly related to gay marriage or gay weddings, President Obama's mandate this week provides a significant right to partners of gays and lesbians....read on....

In the U.S.:

President Obama issued a mandate which requires hospitals to extend visitation and decision-making rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians. This right is something all straight married couples have, but because of DOMA, has been denied same-sex couples. This mandate is a REALLY big deal!
Social Security benefits are still not offered to same sex-couples, however, and there was a protest to this effect last week in LA. This kicks off a national campaign challenging this policy.
A new proposition to overturn Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California (though a ballot initiative), failed to get enough support to appear on the 2010 ballot. Another attempt will be made in 2012 and there's still an active legal challenge to Proposition 8.

Across the World:

A judge in Argentina has annulled the country's first same-sex marriage, although the grooms promise to appeal the decision. Another same-sex couples in Argentina married this month and their status is now in jeopardy.
Three same-sex couples in Italy filed a lawsuit to get married which was rejected by a judge this week.

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 11

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, April 09, 2010

Iowa celebrated one year of gay marriage this week. Read more on that story and some other gay marriage and wedding highlights from around the world.

In the U.S.

New Jersey lawmakers are attempting to stop a court from hearing a case challenging existing civil unions as separate and unequal. That case is the latest attempt to pave the way for gay marriage in New Jersey.
Iowa's had gay marriage now for one year and the sky has not fallen. As of the end of 2009, 1773 same-sex couples married, with over 1000 from non-Iowa residents. Illinois alone had 172 same-sex couples marry in Iowa, followed by Missouri, Nebraska and Minnesota. Despite opposition by Republican gubernatorial candidates, same-sex marriage appears secure in Iowa for the time being.
The majority of Californians recently polled now support same-sex marriage. California had gay marriage for six months before its repeal after a ballot initiative in 2008.

Around the World

Portugal's highest court has approved gay marriage, which now awaits the signature of Portugal's president.

Mexico City reports 88 gay marriages in the month they've been legal in that city, the first city in Latin America to legalize them.

What's the latest news in your area?

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 9

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, March 26, 2010

There wasn't too much excitement this week in the world of gay marriage except for a couple of postponements in critical rulings regarding gay marriage in Italy and Malawi. What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Local news:

And around the world:

The President of Portugal sent the gay marriage bill that came to his desk over to the Constitutional Court for review, claiming that he doubts its constitutionality. Portugal's Parliament approved the bill last month.

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 8

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, March 19, 2010

Happy Friday and welcome to the weekly gay marriage news roundup. This week had some interesting developments. I'm particularly interested to see what happens with gay divorce in Texas. Here we go!

Across the U.S.:

A same-sex couple married in Massachusetts lives in Texas and wants to divorce there. How does Texas grant gay divorce when they don't recognize gay marriage? It's tricky but could have huge implications. Oral arguments begin April 21.
Six couples in New Jersey sued the state for equal marriage rights in 2005 and the ruling in their case led to civil unions in 2006. They are now headed back to court in pursuit of full equality.
Despite a vote down by the NY Senate in late 2009 and a pro-marriage equality governor wracked by scandal, there's still a big push for for gay marriage in NY. New York marriage equality advocates have new supporters, more money, new ads and are fighting stronger than ever.
Pennsylvania Senators took up a bill this week to ban gay marriage through the state Constitution and fortunately a few days later, the bill was killed in committee. I'm glad for this because I've already worked with two couples from Pennsylvania in 2010.

Around the World:

Nepal prepares for its upcoming effective date of legal gay marriage by offering gay weddings on Mt. Everest! The impoverished country sees the value of the gay marriage dollar and the potential of gay weddings to provide a significant boon to the country's economy.

What's happening in your area?

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 7

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, March 12, 2010

This is the week that gay marriage began in the nation's capital. Truly a historic day. Let's start with that and explore the other gay marriage and wedding news of the week!

Across the U.S.:

The Human Rights Campaign held a wedding event on Tuesday, the first day gay couples in the District could legally marry. Here's the video of the ceremonies.
Many Washington Post readers were not at all pleased by the photo the paper ran featuring two gay men kissing!
Actress Cynthia Nixon, star of Sex and the City, wants to marry her partner! In this video, she speaks out about how that's not possible in New York state, where they live.
This will get its own blog post, but the Washington Post ran an article about the wedding related jobs expected to be created in DC due to the legalization of gay marriage.
NH is all over the map when it comes to gay marriage. The latest is that some towns will begin voting on whether gay marriage should be a ballot initiative. Those votes begin on Tuesday.
California State Senator Ashburn who has opposed same-sex marriage for years, was arrested for a DUI last week after leaving a gay club. He's since come out of the closet and defended his stance on gay marriage.

And across the world:

Gay weddings began in Mexico City this week. Mexico City is the first place in Latin America to allow legal gay marriage.

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 6

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, March 05, 2010

Where do I begin? It was a fantastic week for gay marriage, with it beginning in both DC and Mexico City of all places. Mexico City is especially notable because it's such a Catholic country. Here we go....

In the states:

Around the world:

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 5

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, February 26, 2010

It seemed like there was something newsworthy about gay marriage every day this week, with the highlight being the decision in Maryland. Read on to see what I mean:

The Maryland Attorney General wrote a decision declaring that the state will begin to recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions. This means that Maryland same-sex couples can marry Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut or Massachusetts and return home with a marriage recognized by their home state.
Harold Ford Jr, a former Congressman from Tennessee who voted to ban gay marriage at the federal level, now lives in New York and is considering a run for U.S. Senate. Now a supporter of gay marriage, he's faced lots of protests in NY for flip-flopping on this issue.
A bill to bring gay marriage to a voter referendum in West Virginia was defeated by Democrats in that state.
A trio of pro-equality bills were introduced in the Minnesota House. One would recognize gay marriages performed in other states; one would remove gender specific language from state statues related to marriage; and the third would create civil unions.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and asked for a ruling without a trial. You can read more about DOMA here.

And around the world:

A judge in Argentina is permitting a second same-sex couple to marry. The first couple married in December.
Mexico's Supreme Court rejected three challenges to Mexico City's recent gay marriage law. Gay marriage is expected in Mexico City in early March.
A bill introducing gay marriage to Australia was recently defeated.

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 4

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, February 19, 2010

In this weeks gay marriage and wedding news...

The Archdiocese of DC is stopping its foster care program in anticipation of gay marriage coming to the nation's capital.
A couple married in Massachusetts who now live in Texas are seeking to get divorced. How do they get divorced in a state that doesn't recognize their marriage to begin with? The state Attorney General is seeking to deny their divorce.
Six weeks after gay marriage came to New Hampshire, the House rejects two measures to repeal the law.
More than 150 clergy members across the state of Iowa have signed a letter of support of same-sex marriage. This is significant because it signifies that they understand that marriage is not exclusively a religious institution.
My transgender client, Joanne Herman, who is a blogger for the Huffington Post, wrote an article about planning her transgender wedding.
Despite the failure of gay marriage to become law in New Jersey, there was a group civil union ceremony in Atlantic City on Valentine's Day.
The oldest church in Stamford, Connecticut, a Congregational church which recently voted to allow gay marriage, held it's first same-sex wedding on Valentine's Day.

In the world news...

A straight couple in Austria has applied for "civil partnership" - the country's equivalent of marriage for same-sex couples. They argue the current separation of marriage and civil partnership is discriminatory and vow to take their fight to the highest court.
The Portugal Parliament passed a gay marriage bill and it now awaits the approval of the President.

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, January 29, 2010

New feature: every Friday, I'll be sharing some interesting news regarding gay weddings and gay marriage laws. I'm hopeful that the news won't always be depressing about gay marriage bans and such. So, here we go:

Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a lesbian couple in a new movie that's a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie is about a couple who meet the sperm donor of their teenage kids and co-stars Mark Ruffalo.
Although the Mexico City legislature legalized gay marriage, it seems in jeopardy and the federal government is prepared to intervene and overturn the law.
A bill was introduce to overturn gay marriage in New Hampshire, which started on January 1 of this year.
The Indiana State Senate approved a bill to ban gay marriage. Fortunately, it looks to be defeated in the House.
Gay marriage will be legal in Nepal in May and a company is already selling gay weddings on Everest!

Do you have any news to share?

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