back we go

Prop 8 on Trial Yet Again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXypCNgUUyA

It seems like hardly a month goes by that we’re not in court over Prop 8, doesn’t it? We popped by the Federal building in SF to watch the proceedings this morning and had a delightful time. Also, we learned that if you try to take a photo of a courtroom sketch hanging on a wall, the artist will rush over and yell at you. Sorry about that, Joan.

Today’s hearing took up so much of our cognitive energy that there’s scarcely time to get all worked up about the one week left for marriage in New York, or Catholic Charities suing to keep foster kids out of homes, or all the excitement in Lichtenstein at the end of this week.

But get worked up we must! This week’s Marriage News Watch (a project of Queerty contrib Matt Baume) touches on all those things and more, including a ruling in Wyoming that says you can’t get married but you can get divorced.

After the jump: links galore.

It’s going to be a really quick episode this week, since we’re gearing up for the Prop 8 hearing on Monday.

That’s when lawyers will be presenting what The Atlantic called “the worst argument of the year,” in essence asking for a do-over because they didn’t like that the Federal District Court found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional.

The hearing comes just one day after the anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the case that ended the nation’s ban on interracial marriage. Late last week, Ted Olson and David Boies released this video about how that case has echoes in the fight for marriage today. You should definitely see it if you haven’t already. And if you have, see it again.

Over on the other coast, we have just one week left to legalize marriage in New York. Republican Senator Greg Ball suggested that he would only support the measure if it carved out huge exceptions, in essence allowing anyone to treat married gay couples like they’re still single.

Even if we lose again in New York — and it’s looking like we very well may — the fight’s still far from over, with new allies joining us every day. Last week Gawker announced that they’ll hold a fundraiser for marriage on June 22, at which point we’ll either be celebrating an amazing success, or digging in to do it all again next year. I spoke to Gawker’s Brian Moylan about the fundraiser — you can click here to watch our full conversation.

In Illinois, Catholic Charities has sued the state in an attempt to preserve its discriminatory adoption practices. The organization wants the right to withhold foster children from gay parents, thereby preventing children from finding supportive adoptive families.

The city of Cambridge will begin reimbursing municipal employees who are forced to pay the federal “gay tax.” Even though those couples are legally married in Massachusetts, the IRS still taxes them like they’re single. Cambridge is believed to be the first municipality that will make up the difference.

Support for marriage is growing in Wisconsin, with a new poll showing us just four points shy of majority support. Five years ago, we lost a marriage referendum by 19 points.

Two surprising legal headlines this week: A judge in Wyoming ruled that you can’t get married in that state, but you can get divorced if you have a marriage from somewhere else. And a federal judge has ruled that a bankruptcy case involving a couple with a domestic partnership may be eligible for the same protections as marriage.

And Target has again expressed its indifference to LGBTs by refusing to stop funding anti-gay politicians. Target keeps claiming that they’re an inclusive company, but they’ve abandoned their responsibility to help the community as we fight anti-gay politicians that Target helped create.

In international news, the Scottish government has launched a study on the feasibility of granting marriage equality, and Human Rights Watch continues to push for civil union recognition in Lichtenstein. The country holds an election on the issue at the end of this week.

Those are the headlines on this week’s extra-fast version of Marriage News Watch. Click over here to subscribe to weekly updates, and visit us at MarriageNewsWatch.com for more info on all these stories and more.

See you next week.

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