Overview

The lawsuits are piling up in Pennsylvania, where a judge has put marriages on an indefinite hold. It’ll be at least a month and a half before the New Mexico Supreme Court will decide whether the state can issue marriage licenses. And the New Mexico clerk who first issued licenses has started a fundraising campaign — he now needs tens of thousands of dollars to defend against an anti-gay lawsuit.

Transcript

The lawsuits are piling up in Pennsylvania, where a judge has put marriages on an indefinite hold. It’ll be at least a month and a half before the New Mexico Supreme Court will decide whether the state can issue marriage licenses. And the New Mexico clerk who first issued licenses has started a fundraising campaign — he now needs tens of thousands of dollars to defend against an anti-gay lawsuit.

At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume, and welcome to Marriage News Watch for September 16, 2013.

A judge in Pennsylvania has ordered a stop to marriages in Montgomery County. A lone clerk there named D. Bruce Hanes had been issuing licenses since July 23rd, when he determined that the state’s ban is unconstitutional. But with the Pennsylvania Department of Health now suing Hanes, Judge Dan Pellegrini ruled that it was best for the marriages to stop while the lawsuit moves along.

In the mean time, Hanes handed out 174 licenses over the last month and a half. Are they valid? That depends on whom you ask. Hanes says he thinks they are, but that it’s not up to him. Republican Governor Tom Corbett is leading a lawsuit over the marriages and would probably say they aren’t. At least one of those couples has filed a suit of their own in state court to determine whether they are actually married. And there’s also an earlier ACLU lawsuit in federal court over Pennsylvania’s marriage ban.

So there’s a lot of momentum in Pennsylvania right now. And also in New Mexico, where the State Supreme Court will hear arguments about marriage licenses on October 23rd. Some county clerks are issuing marriage licenses, other aren’t, and they’ve all requested guidance on what the law actually allows.

But the federal government doesn’t appear to be waiting for a ruling. At least one married couple has obtained a spousal ID card at Kirtland Air Force Base.

In the mean time, Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins is raising money to defend his office against a lawsuit from anti-gay legislators. Ellins was the first clerk to issue licenses in New Mexico, and he’ll need $40,000 to defend himself. You can visit EqualityDonaAnaCounty.com to chip in.

It’s looking good for marriage equality in Hawaii. Governor Neil Abercrombie said that he would only call a special session if he had the votes to pass a marriage bill. Last week he announced that he will indeed call that session, on October 28th. Earlier this month, an informal survey by the Honolulu Civil Beat showed the bill passing by a margin of just one vote.

There’s a new lawsuit in Kentucky, filed by the Kentucky Equality Foundation. Equality Ohio has teamed up with Freedom to Marry, the Human Rights Campaign, and the ACLU to pursue a stronger public education campaign. And a Native American tribe in Washington state has become the sixth to extend marriage recognition to LGBT members.

Those are the headlines this week. Subscribe here on YouTube and at AFER.org for regular weekly recaps. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume. Thanks for watching and we’ll see you next week.