“If all men and women truly have the inalienable right to pursue happiness, and if all people are created equal, then by extension of law, logic, and love, every adult couple should also have the freedom to join in marriage.”

The declaration comes on the heels of his call to action in the 2012 State of the State address for the Legislature to pass civil unions, which went into effect on January 1, 2013.

Gov. Hickenlooper’s support was echoed by both Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and Congressmembers Jared Polis, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter as part of the launch of “Why Marriage Matters Colorado,” a joint effort by the groups One Colorado, Freedom to Marry, and the ACLU of Colorado to build support for marriage equality in the Centennial State.

Briefs in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases provide a sneak peak into next month’s Supreme Court arguments. Plus, more surveys show a surge in public support for marriage, and a rally in Colorado as the House prepares to vote on civil unions.

Last week the plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case filed their brief before the US Supreme Court. The brief is a record of the case so far and a preview of the argument they’ll make next month when they appear before the court. It’s an amazing distillation of the entire four-year process of fighting Prop 8.

You can watch a special episode of Marriage News Watch that explains the background and goes into more detail on the arguments. And visit AFER.org to read the brief, and to sign up to support the case.

The main point of AFER’s brief is that Prop 8 violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. It does that by denying gay men and lesbians the right to marry, and by creating an unequal status without protecting any legitimate government interest.

We’re now just a month away from oral argument before the court on March 26.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration filed a brief in the other major marriage case before the court, a lawsuit challenging DOMA. The Justice Department brief calls DOMA unconstitutional on the basis of equal protection. They have until Thursday of this week to file a brief in the Prop 8 case as well.

Also this week the Respect for Marriage Coalition released a brand new ad. The video features Republican Marine Corporal Craig Stowell, who wants to be the best man at his gay brother’s wedding.

Public opinion is moving fast on the freedom to marry. A new survey by Goodwin Simon shows that 59 percent of Americans oppose the Defense of Marriage Act. The same poll shows that just 43 percent oppose marriage equality.

And there’s an even bigger advantage in Illinois, where a marriage bill is backed by 50 percent of voters and opposed by just 29. But a big margin of 20 percent is still undecided.

Finally this week, Colorado is moving rapidly towards passage of a civil union bill. The House Judiciary Committee will vote this Thursday. One Colorado is organizing a noon rally for supporters at the Capitol in Denver.

Those are the headlines, remember to share this video with family and friends — it’s the most effective way to win supporters over to our side. And head over to AFER.org to sign up for news alerts and to support the case.

Overview

Major milestones this week, with a vote in Rhode Island and hearings in Colorado. A setback in Virginia, but polling shows the state may soon turn around. Plus, support from an unexpected source in an unexpected state.

Transcript

Major milestones this week, with a vote in Rhode Island and hearings in Colorado. A setback in Virginia, but polling shows the state may soon turn around. Plus, support from an unexpected source in an unexpected state.

At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume. Welcome to Marriage News Watch for January 21, 2013.

It’s going to be another busy week for marriage equality, with a committee vote slated for Tuesday in Rhode Island. The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony last week. This first vote is an early test of our renewed momentum in the state. And a full House vote has been promised within the next two weeks.

Passage in the House appears likely, but it’s far from certain in the Senate. Visit RIUnitedForMarriage.org for more information about the vote, and ways that you can help.

We’re also expecting a Tuesday hearing in Colorado. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear Senate Bill 11, which would legalize civil unions in the state. Sponsors are hoping to get the bill to the governor’s desk by mid-February, but there may be obstacles to a speedy passage. Visit one-colorado.org for the latest updates on the campaign for civil unions.

Meanwhile in Illinois, support is growing for a marriage equality legislation. Major employers, including Google, Orbitz, Groupon, and Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts have signed a letter urging lawmakers to pass the bill. Legislators are likely to take up the measure sometime after early February.

And there’s some good news from an unexpected source: Republicans in Wyoming. Democratic lawmakers introduced marriage and civil union bills in the House. And now Republican Representative Keith Gingery supports the marriage bill, with Republican Representative Ruth Ann Petroff supporting civil unions. Both measures are long shots, but it’s an encouraging bipartisan start.

And some disappointment in Virginia, where Delagate Scott Surovell’s attempt to overturn a marriage ban has failed in committee. The good news is that polling has gradually improved in the state. Two years ago, marriage equality had just 34% support. By June of 2012, that number had risen to 42%.

And finally this week, the price of marriage discrimination has gone up yet again. Congressional Republicans have authorized nearly $3 million for defending DOMA before the US Supreme Court. The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases in late March.

We’ll have breaking news on those cases, as well as developments from the states, in the coming weeks. Subscribe here on YouTube, @AFER on Twitter, and at Facebook.com/AmericanEqualRights. You can also pledge your support at AFER.org and sign up for breaking email alerts.

At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I’m Matt Baume. Thanks for watching.

Big news coming this week from Rhode Island, where we may see the year’s first hearing on marriage equality. New lawmakers in Illinois and Colorado express eagerness to pass marriage and civil unions bills. Two lawsuits join forces in Hawaii and Nevada, plus one unlikely country that saw support for marriage double over the last decade.

In this week’s episode of Marriage News Watch: One of the star witness who testified in favor of Prop 8 has switched sides, joining the majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry. Also this week, there’s yet another DOMA lawsuit, more encouraging surveys in battleground states, and new ads Minnesota.

In this week’s Marriage News Watch: A ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week means that the case against Proposition 8 is about to enter its final phase. A judge finds DOMA to be unconstitutional for the third time in as many weeks. Good polling from battleground states, and Denmark goes from voting on marriage equality to enacting marriage equality in the span of about a week.

In this week’s update: A leaked memo urges an about-face for anti-equality Republicans. A civil unions bill dies in Colorado, for now. But access to marriage expands in Rhode Island, and more new surveys confirm the ever-growing public support for equality

In that case, Romer v. Evans, the Court invalidated a provision of Colorado’s Constitution—known as Amendment 2—that prohibited the state from protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination.  “[T]he Constitution neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens,” the Court declared.  Amendment 2 clearly violated that principle: it was “unprecedented in our jurisprudence,” “not within our constitutional tradition,” and was “born of animosity” toward gays and lesbians.  “[I]f the constitutional conception of ‘equal protection of the laws’ means anything,” the Court concluded, “it must as the very least mean that a bare…desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot constitute a legitimate governmental interest.”

As a civil rights landmark, Romer is a key precedent in Perry v. Brown, AFER’s federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8.  As the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said in its recent opinion affirming that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional (pp. 44-45):

Proposition 8 is remarkably similar to Amendment 2.  Like Amendment 2, Proposition 8 “single[s] out a certain class of citizens for disfavored legal status….”  Like Amendment 2, Proposition 8 has the “peculiar property,” of “withdraw[ing] from homosexuals, but no others,” an existing legal right—here, access to the official designation of ‘marriage’—that had been broadly available, notwithstanding the fact that the Constitution did not compel the state to confer it in the first place.  Like Amendment 2, Proposition 8 denies “equal protection of the laws in the most literal sense,” because it “carves out” an “exception” to California’s equal protection clause, by removing equal access to marriage, which gays and lesbians had previously enjoyed, from the scope of that constitutional guarantee.  Like Amendment 2, Proposition 8 “by state decree…put[s] [homosexuals] in a solitary class with respect to” an important aspect of human relations, and accordingly “imposes a special disability upon [homosexuals] alone.”  And like Amendment 2, Proposition 8 constitutionalizes that disability, meaning that gays and lesbians may overcome it “only by enlisting the citizenry of [the state] to amend the State Constitution” for a second time.  As we explain below, Romer compels that we affirm the judgment of the district court.

In this week’s video: Obama endorses marriage equality and we look at what that means for LGBT Americans and for the future. Colorado’s civil unions bill looked dead in the water last week, but this week the Governor’s found a way to give it one last shot at passing in 2012.

The Republican-controlled Colorado House of Representatives is close to passing a civil unions bill approved last month by the State Senate.  One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Don Beezley, explained why he decided to support the measure:

“I think it’s been an evolutionary process of respecting and learning to appreciate the fact that, regardless of whether an individual understands the nature of the relationships and the situation, that it really comes down to basic equity and fairness for a human being.”

Supporters of the civil unions bill have until midnight Wednesday, when the Colorado House of Representatives adjourns, to pass the legislation.

Twenty years ago, Colorado made national headlines when it adopted Amendment 2, an anti-gay state constitutional amendment that the United States Supreme Court struck down in the landmark 1996 case of Romer v. Evans.  Romer played a central role in the recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Perry v. Brown, AFER’s constitutional challenge to Proposition 8.