Box Turtle Bulletin

New York Assembly Approves Gay Marriage

The New York Assembly approved a bill authorizing same sex marriage Tuesday by a vote of 85-61. The vote is considered largely symbolic because observers believe it has very little chance of passing the Republican-led Senate. This is the first time the Assembly has voted on gay marriage.

MA State Sen. Candaras On Why She Changed Her Vote On Marriage Equality

State Senator Gale D. Candaras was among the sixty-two Massachusetts legislators who voted for the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage last January. She was also among eleven lawmakers who switched their vote this time to defeat the measure on its second reading. Her poignant statement explaining her change of heart is worth reading. I’ve reprinted it in full after the jump. The most compelling reasons she gave all centered around “family”:

Same gender couples have been adopting children and building families here in the Commonwealth for about twenty years. In many instances, same gendered couples have adopted children with severe challenges, children no one else wanted, and they have worked miracles with them. These children would have lived lives of despair without these families. This underscores how we cannot afford to marginalize any of our people; make anyone second-class citizens.

…One grandmother told me she had changed her mind and wanted me to change my vote in case one of her grandchildren grew up to be gay or lesbian. She did not want any of her grandchildren to be denied the right to marry the person they love. This is exactly the legacy we will leave to generations beyond us, and the example we can set for the nation and, I daresay the world, which is certainly paying attention to what we do and say here today.

Click here to read Sen. Candaras’s full statement

Colombia Recognizes Same-Sex Couples

The Congress of Colombia has passed a bill to provide same-sex couples with many of the rights of married opposite-sex couples.  The Latin American country joined with Tazmania, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and nearly all of Europe as well as parts of Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico in providing protections that are denied by most of the United States.

Marriage Upheld in Massachusetts

A proposed amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to ban same-sex marriage has failed.  The requirements for a citizen generated amendment are that such amendment receive 25% favorable vote from the joint legislature in two consecutive sessions along with a favorable vote from the populace.

To get the proposed ban on the 2008 statewide ballot would have required 50 votes. It got 45, with 151 lawmakers opposed. There was no debate.

The soonest anti-gay activists could get such an amendment on the ballot would now be 2012 and though they vow to press on, time is not on their side.  Barring some unexpected event, marriage is here to stay in Massachusetts for the foreseeable future.

It’s Not Special If Everyone Can Have It

The Washington Blade reports that Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley will support domestic partner benefits for gay employees in the next state workers’ union contract. Concerned Woman Matt Barber thinks that move will cheapen marriage for everyone else:

[Barber] contends that domestic partner benefits devalue traditional marriage much the same way introducing counterfeit money into commerce devalues the dollar. “[When] you water down something enough, eventually it becomes unrecognizable,” he asserts, “and we have counterfeit marriage here; we have the government subsidizing counterfeit marriage.”

I’m terribly sorry to learn that Barber’s marriage is devalued by domestic partner benefits. Who knew the value of marriage was subject to the laws of supply and demand?

New Hampshire Governor Signs Civil Union Bill

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D.) signed the civil unions bill into law today. Beginning in January, gay couples will gain access to some of the protections and responsibilities available to married couples. Same sex unions from other states will also be recognized.

New Hampshire joins Connecticut, Vermont, and New Jersey in providing for civil unions, with Oregon  also joining the list in January. Maine, California, Hawaii, and Washington provide for more limited forms of domestic partnerships. Only Massachusetts provides for full marriage equality.

New Hampshire is the first state to enact some form of same-sex unions without a court order or the threat of one. Two years ago, Connecticut adopted their civil unions law without a direct court order, although a case was making its way through the court system.

Domestic Partnership, Non-Discrimination Laws Signed In Oregon

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed two important bills into law today. One will allow same-sex couples to enter into “domestic partnerships,” with many of the benefits currently available to married couples. The other bans discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders in employment, housing and other public accommodations. Both become effective January 1.

Oregon joins California, Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Vermont, and Washington state in offering civil unions or domestic partnerships, although the definitions vary widely among these states. Only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriage. New Hampshire’s legislature recently passed its own civil unions bill which is expected to be signed into law soon.

He Was For Them Before He Was Against Them

Rudy Giuliani used to support civil unions. But now that the New Hampshire legislature has approved civil unions for that state and New York Gov. Spitzer announced plans to introduce a marriage bill in that state, Giuliani has changed his mind.

Spitzer “Checking Off A Box”?

The New York Times this morning carried an editorial which sums up my concerns about Gov. Spitzer’s announcement that he will introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage in the Empire state:

Mr. Spitzer would be the first governor in the nation to introduce a gay marriage bill. But if he is going to make a real difference, rather than simply checking off a box to fulfill a campaign promise, he will have to fight for the law vigorously.

Spitzer already had a very full and difficult legislative agenda even before he announced this bill, which he didn’t list as among his legislative priorities during his State of the State message. Only time will tell if this is a pandering move or the real thing. We’ve seen too much of the former before among politicians, so a dose of caution and skepticism is warranted. The proof will be in the follow-through.

New York Governor to Introduce Gay Marriage Bill

The New York Times reports that Gov. Eliot Spitzer plans to introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. This move would fulfill a campaign promise to introduce such a measure. At this point, it appears that the proposal is a longshot:

If Mr. Spitzer does propose a bill, it is unclear how much muscle he will be willing — or able — to put behind it. The priorities he has outlined — such as overhauling the state’s campaign finance laws and introducing a constitutional amendment to require nonpartisan legislative redistricting — already pose a considerable challenge. That would leave Mr. Spitzer with little political bandwidth that would allow him to build support for another controversial bill.

Washington State Enacts Domestic Partnerships

Charlene Strong experienced a terrible horrer last December when her partner, Kathryn Flemming was trapped by rising water in her basement studeo in Seattle. Strong was initially barred from her partner’s hospital room, and after her partner died, she was barred from  planning the funeral.

Today, Sharlene Strong looked on as Washington state governor Chris Gregoire signed domestic partnerships bill into law which gives gay and lesbian couples just a few of the rights that come with marriage. These rights include  hospital visitation rights, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations and inheritance rights when there is no will. The new law takes affect in July.

Meanwhile, civil union bills continue to wind their way though the Oregon and New Hampshire legislatures. A civil union bill passed the Oregon house, and awaits action by the Senate. Gov. Ted Kulongoski is expected to sign it. In New Hampshire, Gov. John Lynch announced that he will sign that state’s civil unions bill if it passes the Senate. And in Colorado, Gov. Bill Ritter has pledged his support for a gay adoption bill over the objections of the Catholic Conference of Colorado and Focus on the Family.

Fifty-Seven Years And Counting

Who says gay relationships never last and they all die young? An octogenarian couple in Massachussets have something to say about that:

When Commanding Officer Bob Claunch first met and fell in love with Army Sgt. Jack Reavley while stationed in Munich, Germany in 1950, it was “highly impossible that [the two] could have all the freedom that gay people have today,” Claunch said. Though they are still seeking widespread acceptance, the two say things are getting easier with each passing year.

They’ve been together ever since then. They’ve seen a lot of changes over that time:

“Ten, 20 and 30 years ago, we had to be very circumspect to make sure people didn’t think we were gay and two men living together,” Claunch said. “The concept has very much changed.”

Indiana’s Proposed Marriage Ban Defeated

The proposed amendment to Indiana’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage failed to make it out of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, which effectively kills it for the year. As with Arizona’s defeat of a similar measure, the hangup was with the second part of the proposed amendment which would have effectively banned other forms of partnerships or recognitions similar to marriage — including many protections enjoyed by unmarried heterosexual couples.

We’ve seen clauses similar to this used in attempts to overturn domestic violence laws in Ohio, strip Michigan employees of health insurance, and more recently, to  try to deny hospital visitation rights to unmarried couples in Minnesota.

Mexico’s Coahuila Approves Civil Unions

Reuters is reporting that lawmakers in the Mexican state of Coahuila, a mostly rural mining and ranching state that borders with Texas, has approved civil unions for same-sex couples. Coahuila legistlators passed the bill 20-13, which, among other things, grants social security benefits to gay couples. The bill was promoted by the PRI, Mexico’s traditional ruling party before the PAN’s Vicente Fox became the first non-PRI president since 1911. Gov. Humberto Moreira, who is also in the PRI, is expected to sign the bill into law. This means that Coahuila will soon join Mexico City, which passed a civil union law last November.

No Rights, No Responsibilities

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, Michael Kopper, once an Enron managing director in finance and the head of investor relations was sentenced to 37 months in prison. He pled guilty to colluding with Enron chief Andrew Fastow by helping cook Enron’s books. Both made millions as Enron employees, retirees, and shareholders lost everything. Kopper will serve his reduced sentence after having pled guilty four years ago and agreeing to help prosecutors. He was also forced to return $8 million of his ill-gotten gains to the government and to relinquish his rights to another $4 million through forfeiture proceedings.

I don’t normally write about corporate scandals or partisan politics, but it’s worthy to note this because Michael Kopper is gay, and because he is not legally married to his domestic partner William Dodson, authorities could not go after Dodson’s share of the loot which is another $9 million. According to the Washington Blade:

The fact that U.S. and Texas laws do not recognize same-sex relationships most likely prompted authorities against going after Dodson’s financial gains in the Enron affair, financial observers have said. Federal prosecutors forced the married spouses of several Enron figures to forfeit money they obtained in schemes operated jointly with Enron executives.

According to the Houston Chronicle and other media accounts, authorities have placed Dodson in the same “third party” category of individuals or entities, including churches and hospitals, that received tainted Enron money that the government won’t attempt to recoup.

Opponents to same-sex marriage often focus on all the benefits that gays and lesbians allegedly are after, as if these are some sort of jackpot winnings that we’re trying to elbow our way in to. But this opposition doesn’t consider the mutual responsibilities that marriage demands on us — not just responsibilities to each other as a couple, but responsibilities that we are held to as a couple to society as a whole. If society does not officially recongnize a couple, then it cannot demand anything of them because, after all, legally they don’t exist.

With today’s laws, one partner can go bankrupt while the other keeps every cent he has squirreled away. One partner can claim disability benefits while the other is gainfully employed. One partner can run up debts and the other partner is not held accountable to the credit card companies. And of course, neither partner is paying the marriage penalty when tax time comes around.

You cannot have rights without responsibilities; this axiom has been recognized since time immemorial. And when it comes to the law, the converse is often true: you cannot enforce responsibilities without conferring the rights that go with them. Justice is not served when William Dodson is allowed to keep $9 million in stolen funds as retirees are forced to sell their homes and work at fast food joints to pay the bills. But justice is also not served when gay and lesbian couples are blocked from exercising their rights and responsibilities as citizens. It’s ironic — and sad — to see the point illustrated in such sharp focus as it is here.