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Presidential candidate John Kerry supports an anti-gay amendment to the Massachusetts
Constitution
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w w w o w e n s -la w .c o m « 1 0 1 SW M A IN , SUITE 7 0 0 • Portland, O reg o n 97 20 4 • Parking V alid a ted
.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., told The
Boston Globe Feh. 26 that he supports an
amendment to his state’s constitution that
would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples
hut allow civil unions. The frontrunner for the
Democratic presidential nomination remains
opposed to the Federal Marriage Amendment.
The Massachusetts amendment would over
turn a decision by the state Supreme Judicial
Court that gay men and lesbians must he allowed
to marry. The amendment would instead create
a separate and unequal institution for same-sex
couples and would enshrine this discrimination
in the Massachusetts Constitution.
The Human Rights Campaign called Kerry’s
endorsement “deeply disappointing.” Civil
unions do not provide the 1,049 federal benefits
that only full marriage equality can guarantee.
“Civil unions do not provide Social Security
survivor benefits—a system we pay into hut that
our survivors can’t access," HRC president Cheryl
Jacques said. “Civil unions do not allow an
employee access to the Family and Medical Leave
Act—a law that allows an employee to take time
off of work to care for a sick loved one without fear
of losing their job. Civil unions do not ensure fair
taxation on a partner’s health insurance or retire
ment savings. Civil unkins are not portable and
are currently recognized in only one state— Ver
mont. When a couple in a civil union leaves Ver
mont, they are strangers under the law.”
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O andoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap
v„, granted marriage licenses to 26 same-sex
couples Feh. 20 before New Mexico Attorney
General Patricia Madrid issued an opinion later
that day saying the unions were “invalid under
state law,” according to The Associated Press.
“We’re working closely with local groups in
New Mexico and will continue monitoring the
exciting developments in Sandoval County,"
said Gary Buseck of Lambda Legal. “There are
same-sex couples living in Sandoval County
who are married, and their marriages deserve the
same respect as everyone else’s. We are looking
at every legal option available to defend married
same-sex couples in Sandoval County.”
NEW YO R K
N
ew Paltz Mayor Jason West made his village
the first town on the East Coast to perform
marriages for same-sex cou
ples Feb. 27. The Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union,
which is advising some of
the first couples married,
cheered his decision to per
form the marriages.
"The mayor took an
oath to uphold the New
York Constitution,” said Jason West
James Esseks, litigation director of the A C L U ’s
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. “The constitu
tion says, ‘No person shall he denied the equal
protection of the laws.’ That means committed
same-sex couples should not be shut out of the
protections of marriage. The mayor is simply
doing what he is sworn to do: uphold the state’s
highest law.”
Gay and lesbian couples began gathering late
in the morning Feb. 27 at New Paltz Village Hall
following an announcement by West’s office that
he would begin performing ceremonies at noon.
He performed about a dozen marriages.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,
and we feel blessed and awestruck to finally see
this day,” said Jennifer Smits, an English instmc-
tor at the State University of New York. She
and her partner, restaurant chef Dana Wegener,
married Feb. 27 after eight years together. “Dana
and 1 have been talking about what it would like
to he able to marry for four or five years now.
We’re not just happy for ourselves— we’re happy
for our families and for all the couples out there
who have always dreamed of being able to he
married and now may he able to.”
New York state has 46,490 same-sex couples
living in the same household, according to the
2000 census. New Paltz is a village of about
6,000 people and is located about 75 miles north
of New York City.
-t -
I
n the first instance of a local government for
mally saying it will respect legal marriages of
same-sex couples performed in San Francisco,
Canada or elsewhere, the openly gay mayor of
Nyack announced Feb. 27 that the town will
“accord full legal rights and responsibilities” to
married gay men and lesbians.
“Marriage strengthens the ties between peo
ple,” John Shields said. “Committed relation
ships benefit not only each partner hut also act
as a stabilizing force in the community.... 1
don’t understand how extending marriage to
same-gender couples undermines traditional
marriage or weakens community."
The Empire State Pride Agenda praised
Shields’ decision to honor all marriages.
According to Ross Levi, director of public poli
cy and government affairs, other public officials
should follow his example.
“New York has always recognized marriages
from other jurisdictions as valid,” he said.
“There is no reason that New York should do
anything different in regards to same-sex cou
ples and their families.”
David Buckel, director of Lambda Legal’s
Marriage Project, added: “The mayor wants to
do everything within his power to build a strong
community and support families. Under New
York law, mayors and other government officials
can and should honor marriages that are legally
performed in other states or countries.”