The Stay Has Been Lifted!!!!

Judge Walker has lifted the stay on Prop 8 and as of Wednesday, August 18th at 5pm, Same Sex marriages will once again be allowed in California!!!!!!

Prop 8 Ruled Unconstitutional...But the Fight is Not Over

I am sure most of you have heard the good news...

Today, Wednesday August 4th, 2010, a California Federal Judge overturned Proposition 8, California's ban on same-sex marriage, stating it was unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker stated that the proposition was unconstitutional under both the due-process and equal-protection clauses.

"Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8. California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result." "...moreover, California officials have chosen not to defend Proposition 8 in these proceedings. Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the court orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement; prohibiting the official defendants from applying or enforcing Proposition 8 and directing the official defendants that all persons under their control or supervision shall not apply or enforce Proposition 8."

The judge concluded that "Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."


So what's next?
Despite the favorable ruling for gay and lesbian couples, Judge Walker has yet to decide as to whether his order to allow gay marriage should be suspended while proponents of the ban pursue their appeal. He ordered both sides to submit written arguments by Friday .

Once the appeal is ready, it will go first to the 9th Circuit, and then on to the U.S. Supreme Court, if the high court justices agree to review it.

Presidential Proclamation: June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month

As Americans, it is our birthright that all people are created equal and deserve the same rights, privileges, and opportunities. Since our earliest days of independence, our Nation has striven to fulfill that promise. An important chapter in our great, unfinished story is the movement for fairness and equality on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This month, as we recognize the immeasurable contributions of LGBT Americans, we renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.

LGBT Americans have enriched and strengthened the fabric of our national life. From business leaders and professors to athletes and first responders, LGBT individuals have achieved success and prominence in every discipline. They are our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, and our friends and neighbors. Across my Administration, openly LGBT employees are serving at every level. Thanks to those who came before us the brave men and women who marched, stood up to injustice, and brought change through acts of compassion or defiance we have made enormous progress and continue to strive for a more perfect union.

My Administration has advanced our journey by signing into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which strengthens Federal protections against crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation. We renewed the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides life saving medical services and support to Americans living with HIV/AIDS, and finally eliminated the HIV entry ban. I also signed a Presidential Memorandum directing hospitals receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to give LGBT patients the compassion and security they deserve in their time of need, including the ability to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions.

In other areas, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a series of proposals to ensure core housing programs are open to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. HUD also announced the first ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services has created a National Resource Center for LGBT Elders.

Much work remains to fulfill our Nation's promise of equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. That is why we must give committed gay couples the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple, and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We must protect the rights of LGBT families by securing their adoption rights, ending employment discrimination against LGBT Americans, and ensuring Federal employees receive equal benefits. We must create safer schools so all our children may learn in a supportive environment. I am also committed to ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" so patriotic LGBT Americans can serve openly in our military, and I am working with the Congress and our military leadership to accomplish that goal.

As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles. Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

7 Gay couples Challenge U.S. Marriage law

By Denise Lavoine, AP News

Seven gay couples and three widowers who had married in Massachusetts after it became the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage went to court Thursday to challenge the constitutionality of a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The couples filed a lawsuit last year, arguing that the Defense of Marriage Act is discriminatory because it denies same-sex couples access to federal benefits given to heterosexual couples. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro held the first hearing in the case Thursday.

The couples include a Social Security Administration retiree who was denied health insurance for his spouse; three widowers who were denied death benefits for funeral expenses; and couples who have paid more in taxes because they are not allowed to file joint returns.

Mary Bonauto, an attorney with Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said the 1996 law, known as DOMA, got the federal government involved in regulating marriage, something it had left to the states for more than 200 years. She said the law denies gay couples access to more than 1,000 federal programs and legal protections in which marriage is a factor.

"What DOMA does is negate their marital status," Bonauto argued during the hearing.

The law was enacted by Congress in 1996 when it appeared Hawaii would soon legalize same-sex marriage and opponents worried that other states would be forced to recognize such marriages. The lawsuit challenges only the portion of the law that prevents the federal government from affording Social Security and other benefits to same-sex couples.

Since then, five states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage.

W. Scott Simpson, a Justice Department lawyer, said the Obama administration is opposed to the law, but the department has an obligation to defend the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.

"This presidential administration disagrees with DOMA as a matter of policy and would like to see it repealed, but that does not affect the statute's constitutionality," Simpson said.

Simpson said the law does not interfere with the rights of individual states to "experiment in the area of marriage, but that should not dictate how the federal government applies federal law."

Tauro did not indicate when he would rule on the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and the couples' request to declare the law unconstitutional.

After the hearing, the couples who brought the lawsuit told reporters how the law has affected them.

Herb Burtis, a voice professor at Smith College, said his spouse, John Ferris, died in 2008 after they had been together for 60 years. They married in 2004 after Massachusetts legalized gay marriage. After Ferris died, Burtis, 80, was turned down when he applied for Ferris' Social Security retirement and survivor benefits.

"It feels like we're second-class citizens," Burtis said. "We don't count, even though most of us have paid into the Social Security system for most of our lives."

Help End California’s Search for the “Gay Cure”

As hard as it is to believe, California law still instructs the State Department of Mental Health to conduct research into the supposed "causes and cures of homosexuality."

Yesterday, with overwhelming bipartisan support (only one member voting no) the California Assembly passed AB2199, an EQCA-sponsored bill to repealing this law.

However, the anti-gay right-wing groups are already activating their base to put an end to this bill. Why? Because they know that when people realize that sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be "cured," they are much more likely to support full equality for the LGBT community.

The Traditional Values Coalition has made defeating this bill a priority, they want the state to support their dangerous position that sexual orientation can be changed. The Traditional Values Coalition has added this bill to their “Target List” of bills to be defeated saying:

“AB 2199 would forever strike from the Welfare and Institutions code the requirement that the State Department of Mental Health conduct research on the ’causes and cures of homosexuality.’ Right now, this is required in the law. But homosexual advocates do not want the state to study ways to help people leave the homosexual lifestyle. They want the world to think that people are ’born gay.’”

Please urge Governor Schwarzenegger to support this legislation so that California law will treat LGBT Californians with the dignity and respect they deserve. Please sign EQCA (Equality California) petition urging the Governor to support repealing this offensive law!

Click here to sign the petition!

And please tell everyone you know asking them to contact the Governor today!