SCOTUS SENDS IT BACK

Stunning SCOTUS Move Widens Same-Sex Marriage To 30 States

by NINA TOTENBERG
October 06, 2014 5:40 PM ET
Read full article here

In a stunning move, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday stepped out of the gay-marriage debate — at least for now. It refused to review lower court decisions that struck down state bans on same-sex marriage; but the decision not to decide will nevertheless have an immediate and dramatic effect, bringing the total number of states where gay marriage is legal up to 30.

Without saying or writing a word, the justices let stand three appeals court decisions, covering parts of the South, Midwest and West. That means that same-sex couples will now be able to marry in 11 more states: Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Add those 11 states to the 19 states that already allow gay marriage, and you have 30 states where such unions are legal.

Thousands more same-sex couples are expected to begin marrying immediately. In Virginia, for instance, the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples just hours after the Supreme Court's action.

Of course, some appeals courts could, this year or next, uphold a same-sex-marriage ban. Were that to happen, the Supreme Court would very likely have to resolve the conflicting decisions. There are a number of other same-sex-marriage cases in the pipeline. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, covering the far West and Northwest, and the 6th Circuit, covering parts of the Midwest, have both heard arguments in cases that challenge state bans on same-sex marriage, and a decision in either case could be in the offing. Two other circuits are poised to hear challenges to district court decisions striking down gay-marriage bans in Texas and Florida.

But by the time any of these cases reaches the Supreme Court, there are likely to be tens of thousands more same-sex couples married in the 11 states where the Supreme Court declined to intervene on Monday. And it's hard to imagine the justices then telling those married couples that they are not married after all. Gay-marriage opponents, who were largely silent on Monday, conceded privately that there would be "chaos" if the high court later decides to backtrack.

"The Supreme Court justices are very smart people. I don't think they're going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle," said Amy Howe, editor of the leading Supreme Court blog, SCOTUSBlog. Howe said that the message to the lower courts may be "grudging," but it's pretty clear: "Keep on doing what you're doing. We may not be ready to proclaim a national constitutional right to same-sex marriage, but we're not going to stop you from doing it on a state-by-state basis."

Some in the gay community, like Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, had hoped for more. "It's not a done deal until it's done," he said, adding that Freedom to Marry and other organizations will "keep making the case that every day matters and couples shouldn't have to fight state by state, or year by year for the freedom to marry."

Others, however, saw the court's action as a huge victory. "I think that today is one of the greatest days in the history of lesbian and gay rights in the United States," said David Codell, constitutional litigation director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Indeed, the Supreme Court's action, or more precisely, its inaction, is likely to put greater pressure on the 20 remaining states where gay marriage is not legal. Already gay marriage is legal in areas accounting for 60 percent of the American population. And at least some of the cases in the pipeline are likely to boost that number still further.

AG KOSTER BACKS MARRIAGE!

Missouri Attorney General Cris Koster

Attorney General Koster's statement on his decision not to appeal in Barrier v. Vasterling

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster today released the following statement:

"The circuit court's judgment in Barrier v. Vasterling held that Missouri must recognize marriages lawfully entered into in other states. We will not appeal that judgment. Our national government is founded upon principles of federalism – a system that empowers Missouri to set policy for itself, but also obligates us to honor contracts entered into in other states.

A consequence of this morning's ruling by the United States Supreme Court is that gay marriage will soon be legal in as many as 30 states. At a time when Missouri is competing to attract the nation's premier businesses and most talented employees, we should not demand that certain individuals surrender their marriage licenses in order to live and work among us. Missouri's future will be one of inclusion, not exclusion."

SHOW ME VICTORY!

J. Dale Youngs, a Jackson County, Missouri circuit court judge. Photo by Christian Gooden, cgooden@post-dispatch.com

Missouri Judge Side With Married Same-Sex Couples
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oct 3, 2014, 4:51 PM ET
By BILL DRAPER Associated Press


Missouri must recognize the marriages of same-sex couples legally performed in other states, a state judge ruled Friday, saying the state's constitution and laws banning the unions are unconstitutional.


The order by Jackson County Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs means that such couples will be eligible to sign up for a wide range of tax, health insurance, veterans and other benefits now afforded to opposite-sex couples. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who has defended the state's ban on gay marriage, said it was reviewing the ruling.


Youngs ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by 10 same-sex couples who were married in states where gay marriage is legal. They couple argue that their rights to equal protection and due process are being violated by Missouri's ban on gay marriage.

Janice Barrier (left) and Sherie Schild Photo credit: The Vital Voice

Young agreed, saying the couples deserve the same recognition as opposite-sex couples who were married in other states. He said the laws serve no legitimate government interest.


The case is among at least three challenging Missouri's ban on same-sex marriage. The others include a federal challenge in Kansas City and a St. Louis case in which city officials granted marriage licenses to four same-sex couples to trigger a legal test of the ban.


The lawsuits are based on the same arguments that led the U.S. Supreme Court last year to overturn part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that denied a tax, health and other benefits to legally married gay couples.


Same-sex marriage is now legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The American Civil Liberties Union says it has marriage cases pending against 13 other states, of which five are before federal appeals courts.

SO GOES THE LAND OF LINCOLN

Illinois Sends Bill Allowing Gay Marriage to Governor

By MONICA DAVEY and STEVEN YACCINO

Published: November 5, 2013 

NEW YORK TIMES

The Illinois House of Representatives voted Tuesday to allow same-sex couples to wed, ending months of delay over the issue in the Capitol and clearing the way for Illinois to become the 15th state, along with the District of Columbia, to permit gay couples to marry.

The vote was 61 to 54, mostly along partisan lines, with only three Republicans voting yes.

“In Illinois, we tried civil unions and that separate status has time and time again proved to fall short,” said State Representative Greg Harris, a sponsor of the bill, urging his House colleagues to approve the measure on Tuesday.

The measure passed the Illinois Senate in February, but for procedural reasons it had to be voted on there again. On Tuesday, the Senate quickly approved changes the House made to the bill, sending it to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat who has said he will sign it. Illinois couples could begin marrying on June 1.

The outcome itself was perhaps less surprising than how long and difficult the debate had proved in a state with both legislative chambers controlled by Democrats and where President Obama, once a member of the State Senate, specifically voiced his support this year. Illinois already permits civil unions for same-sex couples, but even as a wave of state legislatures passed marriage provisions this year, the issue had stalled.

“We were aiming for this to happen a year ago,” said Bernard Cherkasov, the chief executive of Equality Illinois. In May, in the final hours of the State House’s regular session, a leading advocate of the bill reluctantly and tearfully announced that he would delay plans for a vote, suggesting that there were not yet enough votes to pass it.

“In many ways, it has taken longer than we expected,” Mr. Cherkasov said.

Despite Democratic control of both chambers, the issue had been particularly vexing for some Democrats in socially conservative districts outside Chicago and for some black Democrats in Chicago, where some clergy members have suggested that those supporting gay marriage should prepare for election challenges next year.

“We’re prepared to run and elect people who vote where the people’s minds are,” said Bishop Larry Trotter, senior pastor of the Sweet Holy Spirit Church in Chicago and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Mr. Trotter said he believed that most black residents agreed with him, even if it conflicts with the stance of Mr. Obama.

“We love him,” Mr. Trotter said of Mr. Obama. “We want him to be a great president. But on this issue we differ. It’s unfortunate that he is our hero, he is a hometown boy, but I think he needs to understand that when he speaks for this he’s not speaking for the majority of people.”

Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Democratic state representative from downstate Peoria who is black, had not announced how she would vote until this week. Deciding to vote in favor of same-sex marriage, she said in an interview, “took some guts.”

Ultimately, she said, she viewed the issue in light of work her mother had done in the Peoria community on civil rights. “Our history is about moving the dial toward justice, and I see this as another part of that,” she said.

Ms. Gordon-Booth, who was first elected in 2008, said that she intended to seek re-election next year and that she expected she might well now find competition. “Could I end up in a race? You better believe it. But I prayed on this. And I don’t worry about it anymore.”

Political analysts said it was uncertain how serious the political fallout would prove to be. Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, questioned whether Democratic leaders like Michael J. Madigan, the longtime speaker of the House, would have called a vote had they believed it would cause too many election risks for Democrats.

Much has changed in the months since backers of same-sex marriage began pressing lawmakers in Springfield to go a step beyond the civil unions that have been permitted since 2011. Last fall, voters approved marriage measures in Maryland, Maine and Washington, and lawmakers in Delaware, Rhode Island and Minnesota passed laws this year. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey withdrew his efforts to block same-sex marriage, and weddings began in that state last month.

Michael D. Shear contributed reporting.

MARRIAGE IS MARRIAGE

Same-Sex Married Couples To Get Federal Tax Recognition Regardless Of State

Posted: 08/29/2013 from www.huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that when it comes to taxes, it will recognize same-sex couples' marriages even if they live in a state that does not.

The decision, which was prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, marks the latest political progress for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Prior to this spring, the Internal Revenue Service did not recognize same-sex married couples pursuant to section 3 of DOMA. Once DOMA was overturned in June, the question became: What about same-sex married couples who moved to a state that didn’t recognize their marriage (a couple married in Massachusetts who moved to Arkansas, for example)?

Thursday’s ruling by Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew provides a uniform policy for the IRS; the state of celebration -- where the wedding took place -- now trumps the state of residency when it comes to federal tax status for same-sex married couples.

“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide. It provides access to benefits, responsibilities and protections under federal tax law that all Americans deserve,” Lew said in a statement. “This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”

The new policy, which was first shared by Lew in a conference call that included LGBT advocates, holds a bit of political significance. It was the burden of federal tax law on same-sex couples, after all, that prompted the legal challenge to DOMA in the first place.

Edie Windsor, the plaintiff in the DOMA case, sued the government after being forced to pay estate taxes following the death of her wife, Thea Spyer. Had they been a heterosexual couple, Windsor's tax burden would have been zero. After DOMA was overturned, it was reported that the IRS owed Windsor $363,053.

Under the new Treasury policy, all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, employee benefits, IRA contributions, earned income, child tax credits, and income, gift and estate taxes, will apply to same sex couples regardless of where they live. On the flip side, gay couples also will now be subjected to the so-called marriage penalty, in which some (usually upper-middle class) joint filers incur a higher tax burden than they would if they filed as single people.

The policy only applies to married couples, and not those in domestic partnerships or same-sex unions.

“With today’s ruling, committed and loving gay and lesbian married couples will now be treated equally under our nation’s federal tax laws, regardless of what state they call home,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “These families finally have access to crucial tax benefits and protections previously denied to them under the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.”

The Treasury’s actions on Thursday are just the latest in a set of LGBT policies offered by agencies within the Obama administration following the DOMA ruling. The Federal Election Commission, and Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, also extended federal benefits to gay couples in states that don’t recognize their marriages.

Click here for original article