News Briefs 1/23/2009 – State & Local News
Wyoming to consider marriage amendment, Gay & Lesbian Times.
[New Hampshire] Area legislators sponsor [anti-gay] marriage bill, SeacostOnline.com, Toby Henry.
Advocates push bill to expand rights for same-sex couples [in Minnesota], Minnesota Public Radio.
Texas Attorney General vows to fight gay divorce, PinkNews.co.uk. The headline cracks me up; it sounds as though the Texas AG is going to try to save their marriage.
In L.A., a weekend of dueling marriage equality meetings, Queerty.com, Japhy Grant.
Hillsborough County [Florida] officials thwart Beckner’s attempt for partner benefits, GayPolitics.com.
Decision upholds benefits for same-sex partners of city employees [in New Orleans], Nola.com, Susan Finch.
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand [of NY] supports same-sex marriage, ENDA, repeal of DOMA and DADT, Towleroad.com, Andy Towle.
Portland group to rally in support of Mayor Sam Adams, Towleroad.com, Andy Towle.
Excerpts from the above headlines follow:
Wyoming to consider marriage amendment
Some Wyoming lawmakers want to amend the state constitution to specify that Wyoming won’t recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, while opponents say they’ll fight to defeat the measure for the second time in two years.
[New Hampshire] Area legislators sponsor [anti-gay] marriage bill
Area lawmakers said they’re throwing their weight behind a new bill that would recognize marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal union.
Advocates push bill to expand rights for same-sex couples [in Minnesota]
Same-sex couples would receive equal treatment during an illness or death under legislation introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate.
The so-called Final Wishes Bill would ensure that a surviving partner has control of their loved one’s remains for cremation or burial.
Texas Attorney General vows to fight gay divorce
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said:
“Because the parties’ Massachusetts-issued arrangement is not a marriage under Texas law, they are asking a Texas court to recognise – and dissolve – something that does not legally exist.”
In L.A., a weekend of dueling marriage equality meetings
While neither group is framing it as a competition, two different marriage equality meetings in Los Angeles this weekend are a study in contrasts. On Saturday, at the L.A. Convention Center, the Equality Summit sponsored by Equality California, will host a broad range of talks and plenary sessions with gay and lesbian leaders from both mainstream and grassroots groups. On Sunday, Rick Jacobs and the Courage Campaign (which has been critical of Equality California’s Geoff Kors) will hold the first southland version of its “Camp Courage”, designed to train marriage equality advocates with the tools of grassroots organizing. Cleve Jones will be in attendance.
Hillsborough County [Florida] officials thwart Beckner’s attempt for partner benefits
By a vote of 5-2, Hillsborough County, Fla. commissioners blocked openly gay commissioner Kevin Beckner’s proposal to study the possibility of extending benefits to county employees’ same-sex partners. The officials told Beckner, who held the Victory Fund’s support in his impressive win last November, that their opposition stemmed from the county’s inability to expand benefits during the current economic climate.
Decision upholds benefits for same-sex partners of city employees [in New Orleans]
The city of New Orleans acted legally in the 1990s when it created a registry for same-sex couples and used it as a basis to provide health insurance for the partners of its gay and lesbian employees, a state appellate court ruled last week.
Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand [of NY] supports same-sex marriage, ENDA, repeal of DOMA and DADT
While Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand said in a recent interview that she supports a step-by-step approach to achieving marriage rights via civil unions and then advocating state by state for the “title” of marriage, Ben Smith at Politico reports that “she assured the state’s leading gay rights group yesterday that she backs same-sex marriage, and shows no other conservative leanings.”
Portland group to rally in support of Mayor Sam Adams
A Facebook Group with nearly 2,000 members has sprung up in support of Portland Mayor Sam Adams, whose recent confession that he had a consensual sexual relationship with another adult male but lied about it during his campaign appears to have divided the city and has prompted calls for his resignation and a criminal investigation.
