Why You Should Give A Damn!

Newsletter Archive

Newsletter #1, August, 2005

News Updates

by Davina Kotulski, Ph.D.

So many things have happened since my book Why You Should Give A Damn About Gay Marriage went to press on February 12, 2004. I will do my best to unpack it and I apologize in advance for the California bias.

Little did I know that the day my “baby” was born (the book of course), would also be the day that I would find myself exchanging nuptials with my longtime partner Molly McKay while Assemblymember Mark Leno, (who had earlier that morning introduced AB 1967 the Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act), pronounced us “Spouses for Life” in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall.

I did not expect that our annual Freedom to Marry Day “stand up for your relationship by getting turned down for a marriage license” event at San Francisco City Hall, would end with me marrying Molly. But as the book was printing, and we were being pronounced “Spouses for Life,” the great wall of marriage discrimination that had divided gay from straight began to crack. Thousands of same-sex couples (approximately four thousand), began pouring through what previously seemed to be an impenetrable wall.

Even though these miraculous marriages were halted on March 11th, and were eventually nullified by the California Supreme Court six months from the date they had started, the spirit of that act of courage by Gavin Newsom continues to reverberate in ripples of hope all around the world.

Here are some of the highlights, and (if you will) some of the lowlights:

February 12, 2004- Gavin Newsom orders SF County Clerks to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Del and Phyllis—together 51 years—are the first same-sex couple to be married. Following this event, officials across the country follow suit and begin marrying same-sex couples in New York, New Mexico, and New Jersey.

February 14, 2004- Comedian Margaret Cho speaks at the Marriage Equality California Rally at the Sacramento State Capitol and the first Marriage Equality Caravan heads north rallying for equal marriage rights stopping at Wal-marts and Home Depots throughout Northern California to speak to people about the issue.

February 24, 2004- Attorney Gloria Allred files the first lawsuit in California to recognize equal marriage rights for same sex couple. The lawsuit is called Tyler vs County of Los Angeles, (Robin Tyler & Diane Olson). She also files suit for Rev. Troy Perry and his husband, Phillip DeBleck, to have their Canadian marriage recognized in California. Twelve couples subsequently filed suit in San Francisco, by NCLR, LAMBDA, ACLU, and the city of San Francisco. The Los Angeles lawsuit is consolidated into the San Francisco one, called Woo vs State of California.

March 3, 2004- Multnomah County, Oregon begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

March 11, 2004- A stay is issued halting all marriages between same-sex couples in San Francisco. Approximately 4000 same-sex couples were married during the one-month period and hundreds more had their upcoming marriage appointments canceled.

May 11, 2004- UCLA does a study to determine how much it would cost the state of California to allow same-sex couples to marry. Findings: It would save the state government $25 million annually if same-sex couples were allowed to marry.

May 17, 2004- Upon State Supreme Court order, same-sex couples begin to legally marry in Massachusetts.

May 2004- AB 1967, the Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act passes the California Assembly Judiciary committee (the first state to have a marriage equality bill approved in a policy committee) but is not brought forward to the Assembly floor.

June 21, 2004- Congressional Budget Office does a report to find out how much it would cost the U.S. Govt. to allow same-sex marriages. Findings: It would save the federal government $1 billion annually to allow same-sex couples to marry. See www.cbo.gov.

July 2004- Civil rights leader Coretta Scott King denounced the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Georgia saying, “Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union.”

July 29, 2004- The nation’s largest association of psychologists, the American Psychological Association, announces support for the legalization of same-sex marriage and opposition to discrimination against lesbian and gay parents.

August 3, 2004- Missouri voters ban same-sex marriage.

August 10, 2004- The Miami Beach City Commission created a domestic partnership registry that give gay employees the legal right to participate in their partner’s health care, child care and other decisions and allows Miami Beach residents and visitors to register as domestic partners with the city clerk’s office; heterosexual couples are also allowed to register.

Aug 12, 2004- California State Supreme Court invalidates the over 4000 marriages performed in San Francisco but is careful to say it is not ruling on the merits of marriage discrimination, only that the Mayor can’t legalize marriage—that is the role of the courts. A lawsuit challenging marriage discrimination is filed in the California Superior Court the next day. Californians in 25 counties throughout the state spontaneously and simultaneously protest the decision in the streets.

September 7, 2004- A second county judge in Washington state rules ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

September 18, 2004- Louisiana voters ban same-sex marriage.

October 4, 2004- Marriage Equality Express Caravan leaves from Oakland to Washington, D.C. with 50 activists including same-sex couples whose marriages were annulled by the courts stopping in 10 cities to meet with local allies and promote marriage equality.

October 11, 2004- First ever National Marriage Equality Rally held in DC.

Oct. 13, 2004- New York State’s retirement system decides to treat a Canadian gay marriage the same as any other marriage for the purposes of retirement benefits and obligations.

November 2, 2004- Constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage are passed in 11 states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.

December 2004- Assembly member Mark Leno and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez jointly introduce the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB 19) which would provide same-sex couples the right to marry.

December 5-7, 2004- CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll found that 85 percent of all women, and 73 percent of all men in the United States support gays and lesbians right to serve openly in the military.

December 31, 2004- Australian state Tasmania, announces it will allow same-sex couples to gain full access to the medical, pension, care-giver and parental entitlements that heterosexual couples enjoy.

January 1, 2005- AB 205, the historic domestic partnership legislation passed in 2003, becomes law and California registered domestic partners are entitled to most state rights that come with marriage effective on this date.

January 20, 2005- A federal prosecutor in Brazil asks a judge to order justices of the peace throughout Brazil to perform same-sex marriages.

March 3, 2005- All same-sex marriages performed in Multnomah County Oregon are invalidated by the Oregon Courts. The next day, a lawsuit challenging the merits of marriage discrimination is filed in the lower courts.

March 14, 2005- San Francisco Superior Judge Richard Kramer rules that marriage discrimination against same-sex couples is unconstitutional. This ruling is on appeal.

April 5, 2005- The California Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) endorse marriage equality for same-sex couples. “In a place like California, you can not possibly work for rights if you don’t work for gay rights,” said Alice A. Huffman, California NAACP president. “You either believe in the rights of everyone or you are in the wrong business.”

April 20, 2005- Connecticut approves civil unions for same-sex couples. The law will not go into effect until October 2005.

April 26, 2005- New Zealand Civil Unions law goes into effect

May, 2005- AB 19, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which was introduced by Mark Leno and Fabian Nunez, falls short of passing by 4 votes in the California State Assembly.

May, 2005- California Democratic Convention unanimously endorses a resolution in support of marriage equality.

June 4, 2005- The “Dine Marriage Act of 2005” defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman and prevents same-sex marriages on the Navajo Nation.

June 5, 2005- Swiss voters approve gay civil unions bill.

June 20, 2005- Using the “gut and amend” process, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act (AB849) is brought back to life in the Senate.

June 23, 2005- The United Farm Workers of America (UFW) announce support for marriage equality.

June 28, 2005- Canada legalizes same-sex marriage throughout the country.

June 29, 2005- Slovenia lawmakers adopt the government-proposed law recognizing gay partnerships, which entitles partners to the same rights as a family member if their partner is hospitalized, but does not entitle them to inherit their partner’s property or any other marriage rights.

June 30, 2005- Spain legalizes same-sex marriage for Spanish citizens.

June 30, 2005- The Netherlands announces it will now allow gay and lesbian couples to adopt foreign-born children.

August 1, 2005- The California Court says businesses can’t deny discounts to gay domestic partners. “The Legislature has made it abundantly clear than an important goal of the Domestic Partner Act is to create substantial legal equality between domestic partners and spouses,” Associate Justice Carlos Moreno wrote for a five-judge majority. “We interpret this language to mean that there shall be no discrimination in the treatment of registered domestic partners and spouses.”

August 3, 2005- Pew Research Center Poll reports that 53% of Americans would permit gays and lesbians to enter into legal arrangements that would give them many of the same rights as married couples. 35% of those polled said they support full marriage equality for same-sex couples and 53% were against marriage equality.

August 3, 2005- Rev. Al Sharpton speaks out on marriage equality and his campaign to end homophobia within the African American community. Sharpton said “They tried to say that being gay is a sin, and I said that adultery is a sin. Adultery is responsible for breaking up more marriages, but do we put that in the Constitution? It’s absurd.”

August 4, 2005- The marriage of two lesbian members of the Cherokee Nation was upheld when the tribe’s Judicial Appeals Tribunal dismissed a lawsuit seeking to void the union.

August 8, 2005- Marriage Equality USA elects Davina Kotulski as its new Executive Director. Visit their site to find out how you can help and receive a free membership.

Aug 10, 2005- The Spanish Ministry concluded “that a marriage between a Spaniard and a foreigner, or between foreigners of the same sex resident in Spain, shall be valid as a result of applying Spanish material law, even if the foreigner’s national legislation does not allow or recognize the validity of such marriages.”

What does the future hold?

AB849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, is expected to go for a vote before the California Senate the week of August 15th. If it passes the Senate and the Assembly, it will go to the Governor's desk for signature this fall.

Two different anti-gay forces in California have launched several State Constitutional ballot measures seeking to eliminate all domestic partnership protections deny access to the courts and legislature to challenge marriage discrimination. Anti-gay activists have until December 22 to gather their 600,000 signatures. This will be voted on in the California primary election in June 2006. The “Equality for All” campaign has formed to oppose these measures. Go to www.eqca.org to find out how you can help!

In October 2005, Connecticut same-sex couples can enter into a civil union.

In December, England same-sex couples will be able to enter into registered partnerships. Elton John is planning his ceremony.

The California same-sex marriage lawsuit is slowly making its way through the California courts, but a decision not likely until after November 2006 election, and may not even come down until 2007. Lawsuits are also pending in Washington, New York, and New Jersey to name a few.

Brazil, Australia, and South Africa are fighting for marriage rights for same-sex couples.