Lisa Murkowski Supports Gay Marriage

photo courtesy of PR Watch

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has come out for marriage equality.  She posted the following on her website Wednesday morning:

“I am a life-long Republican because I believe in promoting freedom and limiting the reach of government. When government does act, I believe it should encourage family values. I support the right of all Americans to marry the person they love and choose because I believe doing so promotes both values: it keeps politicians out of the most private and personal aspects of peoples’ lives – while also encouraging more families to form and more adults to make a lifetime commitment to one another.”

Murkowski makes a total of three GOP Senators to support equality, joining Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Portman announced his support earlier this year after learning his own son is gay.

With the Supreme Court poised to issue rulings on two cases involving gay marriage rights, and public opinion swiftly shifting toward acceptance of same-sex marriage, it seems likely more GOP politicians will begin shifting their position – most people agree full equality is inevitable, so being on the wrong side of the issue will become a liability in the near future.

But then again, we’re talking about the GOP….. nevermind.

No SCOTUS Decisions on DOMA or Prop 8 Today

There were no decisions handed down today on either the Defense of Marriage Act or Proposition 8. The decisions will need to come next week, as the Court’s session ends then. Experts think there will probably be one or two decision days added, so word should come either Monday, Wednesday or Thursday.

Frankly, the suspense is killing me!

No Decision on DOMA or Prop 8

The SCOTUS DOMA Decision – What It Means

A Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of section 3 of the The Defense of Marriage will be revealed this month.  Gay couples and allies wait for the verdict – one that would provide over 1100 rights to same sex couples. Murray Lipp offers a great overview in Huffington Post Gay Voices blog.  He gives a good overview of the history of the law and Eddie Windsor’s case against it (For more information on that, see my DOMA Digest).

I particularly liked his list of five ways in what he calls  “DOMA’s destructive impact.  He offers a great description of the negative impact DOMA creates and what would be gained if DOMA section 3 is repealed.  In brief they are:

1. Immigration (this one strikes close to home as my husband is Canadian and here on a student visa – when that expires, if DOMA is still in effect, we need to leave the US)
2. Social Security and Medicare
3. Federal Taxes
4. Family Medical Leave
5. Military Benefits

Except for number 5, these impact ALL married couples –  Our fingers are crossed as we wait for word from the high court.  In the meantime, please share this post with others so people begin to realize what the ramifications of discriminatory laws have on their gay friends and family.  It is clear from recent polling that many straight (and some gay) Americans don’t really understand what DOMA is and how it impacts the lives of married gay couples in our country.  The more people know, the more minds change, the closer to equality as a nation we become.

Watch: Marriage News Watch for May 20

Marriage News Watch from Matt Baum at AFER