Tag Archives: constitutional

Hundreds Rally To Support Gay Marriage; Protest Mayor

A person holds a rainbow flag during a Gay Pride parade. (credit: Peter Kohalmi/AFP/GettyImages)

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Hundreds rallied in support for gay marriage Saturday.

The gay pride march was originally planned to bring attention to two marriage equality cases awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. Recent events however, at Dallas City Hall have given the rally a new purpose.

Supporters said theyre protesting Mayor Mike Rawlings due to his decision not to put a resolution supporting gay marriage on the city council agenda.

This isnt the first time Rawlings has drawn the ire of protestors. Last yea he refused to sign a pledge in support of a Constitutional law allowing same-sex marriage.

Im a bit pledge-phobic, Rawlings told reporters at the Dallas Resource Center afterward. I think America has got too many pledges out there and I think its simplistic and not substantive.

While signing the pledge may be a simplistic action for Rawlings, members of the LGBT community said it could have resonated deeply throughout the city.

The Boys Scouts of America just lifted its ban on gay scouts, but not without loud and widespread opposition. A dozen states plus the District of Columbia now permit same-sex marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court will also rule on same-sex marriage this year.

Pride Month is held to commemorate the June 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City, which was the turning point for the gay rights movement.

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Hundreds Rally To Support Gay Marriage; Protest Mayor

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French president to sign gay marriage bill into law

French President Francois Hollande will sign a gay marriage and adoption bill into law Saturday, after the Constitutional Council threw out a legal challenge by the right-wing opposition.

Hollande, trying to turn the page on months of bitter oppo sition to the measures, said it was “time to respect the law and the Republic”.

The Constitutional Council approved the bill on Friday, International Day Against Homophobia.

The French court ruling clears the way for France to become the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage. French deputies approved the bill in parliament last month after a several days of often stormy debate.

The main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy immediately challenged it on constitutional grounds.

But Friday’s statement by the Constitutional Council said same-sex marriage “did not run contrary to any constitutional principles,” and that it did not infringe on “basic rights or liberties or national sovereignty”.

However, the council said, gay adoption did not automatically mean the “right to a child”: the “interest of the child” would be the overriding factor in such cases, it ruled.

Reacting to the ruling Friday, UMP party chief Jean-Francois Cope told TF1 television: “It is a decision that I regret, but that I respect.”

Hollande, as he announced his decision to sign the bill into law as early as Saturday, warned that he would brook no resistance.

“I will ensure that the law applies across the whole territory, in full, and I will not accept any disruption of these marriages,” he said.

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David Rivkin dissects Supreme Court case on gay marriage: Bill Bennett’s Morning in America (Day 2) – Video



David Rivkin dissects Supreme Court case on gay marriage: Bill Bennett's Morning in America (Day 2)
Will the Supreme Court rule that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional? Bill Bennett's Morning in America: Constitutional attorney David Rivkin pro…

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David Rivkin dissects Supreme Court case on gay marriage: Bill Bennett’s Morning in America (Day 2) – Video

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Legal gay marriage no longer a 'losing proposition'

After South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnsons embrace of gay marriage last week, activists who have made the issue a litmus test for Democratic Party officeholders are cranking up the heat on the three remaining holdouts among Democrats in the Senate.

More than a dozen Democrats in the Senate have announced support for the rights of gay and lesbian couples to marry since last month, when former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the consensus front-runner for the partys 2016 presidential nomination, told followers she had evolved on the issue and now backs same-sex marriage.

Among Democrats, only Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, Mark L. Pryor of Arkansas and Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana arent on board with gay marriage.

What was not long ago a losing position politically is becoming a winning one, said Mark Rozell, a political-science professor at George Mason University. Look for more Democrats seeking office to play up this issue, which indeed appears to be becoming a litmus in many parts of the country.

Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee took it a step further, saying it will be very hard for any Democrat to run for president any more if they dont openly support same-sex marriage.

Its become the defining civil rights issue of this generation, Mr. Elleithee said. You dont need to be the first one on board but you sure as heck dont want to be the last one, or even worse, on the outside looking in.

Ralph Reed, head of the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition and traditional marriage supporter, said the day is coming where opponents of same-sex marriage are no longer welcome in the Democratic Party.

Just as 20 years ago Gov. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania was excluded from speaking at Democratic National Convention because he was pro-life, the day is coming when a Democratic elected official who believes in traditional marriage will be excluded from the podium at a Democratic convention, Mr. Reed said.

The mad dash toward gay marriage started in the days leading up to the oral arguments at the Supreme Court on the constitutional challenges to Californias Proposition 8, the voter referendum that banned same-sex marriage in the state, and the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which defined marriage for the purpose of federal law as a legal union between one man and one woman.

But Mr. Manchin, whose state passed a law in 2000 banning same-sex marriage, hasnt shown any signs he plans to budge. Nor have Mr. Pryor and Mrs. Landrieu, both of whom face re-election in 2014 and represent voters from Southern states that passed state constitutional amendments defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

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Legal gay marriage no longer a 'losing proposition'

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SCOTUS Won’t Make Gay Marriage a Constitutional Right: Damon Root on Prop. 8 Oral Arguments – Video



SCOTUS Won't Make Gay Marriage a Constitutional Right: Damon Root on Prop. 8 Oral Arguments
“The Supreme Court seems to think that the backers of [California's] Proposition 8 don't have the standing to bring this case, which would send the case back…

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SCOTUS Won’t Make Gay Marriage a Constitutional Right: Damon Root on Prop. 8 Oral Arguments – Video

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‘No Constitutional Right to Gay Marriage Becuase We Used to Execute Gays’ – Video



'No Constitutional Right to Gay Marriage Becuase We Used to Execute Gays'
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‘No Constitutional Right to Gay Marriage Becuase We Used to Execute Gays’ – Video

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Gay marriage opponents pursue ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A proposal to write Indiana’s gay marriage ban into the state constitution may be on hold as Republican leaders ponder its fate this year, but the House and Senate sponsors are charging ahead anyway.

Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, said he plans to introduce the measure in the House this year. And Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, has already filed the proposal in the Senate.

The General Assembly already overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment once in 2011. It would have to sign off on it again, this year or in 2014, and then send the proposal to voters for final approval.

“We do have some flexibility between this year and next. We recognize that,” Turner said. “But frankly, some of us would like to put it behind us and let the public weigh in.”

The Supreme Court’s decision to take up a pair of cases dealing with gay marriage and employee benefits for same-sex couples has led Republican leaders in both chambers to hold back on making any plans this year.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, a Fort Wayne Republican, said he is waiting for his staff to review any impact from the Supreme Court before deciding whether to move on the issue this year.

“There’s no definitive decision on that as of yet,” he said Tuesday.

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, pointed out Monday he did not include the ban in a legislative agenda released by House Republicans, but he has also refused to slam the door shut on the issue.

“Why is everybody focusing on this issue?” Bosma asked Monday, the opening day of the 2013 session. “We’re here to talk about jobs, the budget, and workforce development and education. I’m sure some of these issues will be discussed, but it certainly wasn’t part of our agenda and it wasn’t part of the discussion on our part today either.”

Turner, who serves as the second-ranking Republican in the House, said he understands Long and Bosma will have to work out a timetable, but said he is confident in the support for the ban in the Assembly.

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Gay marriage opponents pursue ban

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Gay marriage opponents push ahead with proposal for ban

INDIANAPOLIS — A proposal to write Indiana’s gay marriage ban into the state constitution may be on hold as Republican leaders ponder its fate this year, but the House and Senate sponsors are charging ahead anyway.

Rep. Eric Turner, R-Cicero, said he plans to introduce the measure in the House this year. And Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, has already filed the proposal in the Senate.

The General Assembly already overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment once in 2011. It would have to sign off on it again, this year or in 2014, and then send the proposal to voters for final approval.

“We do have some flexibility between this year and next. We recognize that,” Turner said. “But frankly, some of us would like to put it behind us and let the public weigh in.”

The Supreme Court’s decision to take up a pair of cases dealing with gay marriage and employee benefits for same-sex couples has led Republican leaders in both chambers to hold back on making any plans this year.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long, a Fort Wayne Republican, said he is waiting for his staff to review any impact from the Supreme Court before deciding whether to move on the issue this year.

“There’s no definitive decision on that as of yet,” he said Tuesday.

Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, pointed out Monday he did not include the ban in a legislative agenda released by House Republicans, but he also has refused to slam the door shut on the issue.

“Why is everybody focusing on this issue?” Bosma asked Monday, the opening day of the 2013 session. “We’re here to talk about jobs, the budget, and work force development and education. I’m sure some of these issues will be discussed, but it certainly wasn’t part of our agenda and it wasn’t part of the discussion on our part today either.”

Turner, who serves as the second-ranking Republican in the House, said he understands Long and Bosma will have to work out a timetable, but said he is confident in the support for the ban in the Assembly.

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Gay marriage opponents push ahead with proposal for ban

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Occupy LA activists sue city over eviction – Video


Occupy LA activists sue city over eviction The city of Los Angeles is facing legal action launched by Occupy activists. Occupy LA protesters have filed a class-action lawsuit against the city. The suit alleges that the constitutional rights of activists were violated during the eviction of their camp

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US Supreme Court puts off action on gay marriage

There was no announcement about the Supreme Court’s plans to act on gay marriage Friday, leaving interested parties on both sides of Prop 8 wondering what the future holds.

Three weeks after voters backed same-sex marriage in three states and defeated a ban in a fourth, the justices for the country’s top court met Friday to decide whether they should deal sooner rather than later with the claim that the Constitution gives people the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation.

The court also declined to focus on a narrower but still important issue: whether Congress can prevent legally married gay Americans from receiving federal benefits otherwise available to married couples.

After the court’s decision to make no announcement on Friday, the next opportunity for word on gay marriage cases is Monday. The justices also could put off a decision until their next private meeting in a week’s time. That will be their last meeting until January.

Any cases would be argued in March or April, with a decision expected by the end of June.

Gay marriage is legal, or will be soon, in nine states Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. Federal courts in California have struck down the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but that ruling has not taken effect while the issue is being appealed.

Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved gay marriage earlier this month.

But 31 states have amended their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage. North Carolina was the most recent example in May. In Minnesota earlier this month, voters defeated a proposal to enshrine a ban on gay marriage in that state’s constitution.

The biggest issue the court could decide to confront comes in the dispute over California’s Proposition 8, the constitutional ban on gay marriage that voters adopted in 2008 after the state Supreme Court ruled that gay Californians could marry.

The case could allow the justices to decide whether the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection means that the right to marriage cannot be limited to heterosexuals.

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US Supreme Court puts off action on gay marriage

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