Civil & Human Rights

New Jersey court rules in favor of marriage equality

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

EqualA New Jersey state court judge ruled on Friday that same-sex couples have a
constitutional right to marry under the state constitution, ordering
marriage equality will take effect on October 21, 2013 — assuming the
decision is not stayed on appeal. New Jersey Judge: Same-Sex Couples Have The Right To Marry:

The decision is expected to be appealed, first to an intermediate court, and then to the state Supreme Court.

* * *

The decision
does not overturn the civil unions law, but asserts that same-sex
couples must also have the right to marriage, including all the federal
benefits now associated with it post-Defense of Marriage Act:

The ineligibility of same-sex couples for federal
benefits is currently harming same-sex couples in New Jersey in a wide
range of contexts: civil union partners who are federal
employees living in New Jersey are ineligible for marital rights with
regard to the federal pension system, all civil union partners who are
employees working for businesses to which the Family and Medical Leave
Act applies may not rely on its statutory protections for spouses, and
civil union couples may not access the federal tax benefits that married
couples enjoy.

And if the trend of federal agencies deeming civil union partners
ineligible for benefits continues, plaintiffs will suffer even more,
while their opposite-sex New Jersey counterparts continue to receive
federal marital benefits for no reason other than the label placed upon
their relationships by the State. This unequal treatment
requires that New Jersey extend civil marriage to same-sex couples to
satisfy the equal protection guarantees of the New Jersey Constitution
as interpreted by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Lewis. Same-sex couples must be allowed to marry in order to obtain equal protection of the law under the New Jersey Constitution.

Who died and made her Pope?

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I was deeply disappointed with the media coverage of the Marriage Matters Arizona press conferences. There were several religious leaders of several religious faiths who spoke eloquently about the fundamental right of the freedom to marry at these press conferences. But somehow, their presence and their eloquent words did not make it into any press reports.

JesusFacepalm2No, the media villagers all turned to Cathi Herrod from the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), which professes to support Christian values — if by "Christian" you mean supporting ignorance, fear and hatred for others. I am confident Jesus does not approve.

Who died and made her Pope? (BTW, Pope Francis is more enlightened; he has said he doesn't have any problem with the inclination to homosexuality
itself: "Who am I to judge them if they're seeking the Lord in good
faith?")

UPDATE: Pope decries focus on ‘small-minded’ rules: Pope Francis also says it’s “not necessary” to always condemn abortion, homosexuality and contraception.

Note to the media villagers: Cathi Herrod does not speak for the faith community. She is a lobbyist for a right-wing political organization that opposes women having the right to make their own health care decisions over their own bodies, opposes birth control, opposes sex education beyond abstinence only programs, opposes equal rights under the law for gays and lesbians, etc. Her far-right positions are not the majority view of most Americans, and not even the majority view of most people of faith.

Nor is Cathi Herrod's regressive political agenda shared by most religious faiths. So stop turning to her as if she is the official spokesperson for all religious faiths in the faith community, because she most definitely is not! Try picking up the phone and calling some actual religious leaders for a change.

Why Marriage Matters Arizona campaign launched

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

WMMAWhy Marriage Matters Arizona kicked off its educational campaign today in Phoenix and Tucson, with an eye towards building a broad-based coalition of faith community, business community, and nonpartisan political support for the fundamental right of freedom to marry for everyone without invidious state-sanctioned discrimination against any individual based upon his or her sex or gender. This coalition will support a ballot initiative for freedom to marry in 2016. Campaign launches to move marriage forward in Arizona:

PHOENIX AND TUCSON, Ariz. – In an effort to remove
discrimination from Arizona’s Constitution and win the freedom to marry
for all couples in the state, Equality Arizona, the American Civil
Liberties Union of Arizona, the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to
Marry have launched a campaign called Why Marriage Matters Arizona.

Why Marriage Matters Arizona is a grassroots public
education campaign to build support for the freedom to marry in Arizona.
The campaign will open a dialogue with Arizonans about why marriage is
important to same-sex couples and their families and is consistent with
the values of liberty and freedom.

“Everyone should have the freedom to marry the person they love in
the state that they call home, and that includes same-sex couples in
Arizona,” said Rebecca Wininger, president of Equality Arizona. “The
national landscape for marriage is shifting rapidly. It’s time to get
the conversation started here in Arizona.”