A reminder: the local rally against the federal marriage amendment is tonight at 5:45 p.m. in front of the HRC (at 17th and Rhode Island). Come on down!
Well, there’s been a lot of related news in the past week (perhaps it’s worth a “gay marriage” sideblog), so here’s a rundown of selected points:
- officials in Multnomah county, Ore., began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples today.
- California governor Schwarzenegger, who previously speculated that the San Francisco issuances could lead to riots, said on Monday that he’d be fine with gay marriage if state voters and courts approved it. (I’m not exactly thrilled, though; it’s basically a legalistic concession, not a philosophical endorsement.)
- last week a Georgia constitutional amendment banning gay marriage failed to pass in the state’s House of Representatives, and will be reconsidered; a Mississippi constitutional amendment will be on the state ballot in November.
- New York news: attorney general Eliot Spitzer said state laws do not allow same-sex marriage, but uncertainty on constitutional questions of equal protection will have to be settled by the courts; New Paltz mayor Jason West was charged with misdemeanor counts for solemnizing marriages for couples who did not have licenses; Ithaca and Nyack had begun officially recognizing same-sex marriages—the former will offer legal help to gay couples who go to court if their marriage license applications are denied by the state, and the latter plans to perform ceremonies as early as this week.
[Clarification: While Spitzer’s opinion is that New York law prohibits the state’s mayors and town leaders from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, he believes it does allow recognition of such marriages performed in other jurisdictions.]
By the way, the April issue of Atlantic Monthly has a piece by Jonathan Rauch (whose writing I enjoy; “Caring for Your Introvert” is one of my favorites), entitled “A More Perfect Union.” “Advocates and opponents of same-sex marriage agree on one point: something needs to be done about it on a nationwide basis. But why not consider a different approach?” I’m looking forward to it.
I wish I had known about this before! When you’re in front of the new HRC you’ll be right next to my office which is across 17th St in the National Restaurant Association Building. If only I didn’t have to go to therapy tonight. ARG.