Wolfson Testimony At DOMA Repeal Hearing

U.S. Senate DOMA Repeal Hearing Tomorrow!

Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is conducting a hearing on July 20th on the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the Respect for Marriage Act (S. 598/H.R. 1116), which would repeal the 1996 federal law which bans the recognition of legally same-sex married couples by the federal government, among other things.

The hearing will be split into two panels. TowleRoad has the details

Panel 1

* Susan Murray, who lives in Ferrisburgh, Vt., with her spouse, Karen Murray. An attorney with the Burlington office of Langrock, Sperry & Wool, Murray was the co-counsel in the lawsuit Baker v. Vermont, which established civil unions in Vermont in 2000.

* Andrew Sorbo, a Cheshire, Conn., resident who was married to Colin Atterbury. Before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2009, Atterbury was a retired Veterans Affairs hospital administrator and professor of medicine at Yale University. Sorbo, now retired, worked for 35 years as a history teacher and principal. 

* Ron Wallen, an Indio, Calif. resident, who married Tom Carrollo in 2008 after being together for 55 years. In March, Carrollo lost his battle to cancer. After Carrollo's death, Wallen's income was compromised because DOMA prohibits him from receiving his spouse's Social Security payment. Wallen would have been able to receive these payments had he been in an opposite-sex marriage. According to the hearing notice, Wallen is unable to make payments on his family home and is faced with selling the residence, after just losing his spouse.

Thomas Minnery, Senior Vice President for Public Policy, Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO.

Panel 2

Joe Solmonese, President, The Human Rights Campaign, Washington, DC.

David Austin R. Nimocks, Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund, Washington, DC.

Edward Whelan, President, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Washington, DC 

Evan Wolfson, Founder and Executive Director, Freedom to Marry, New York, NY

Although I don't usually agree with Dan Choi on many things, I do agree that the lack of diversity at this hearing is shameful. 7 White guys and 1 white woman? Come on, now!

UPDATE 07/19/2011 04:57PM PST:


According to Karen Ocamb the updated witness list now includes some color (Congressman John Lewis of Georgia):

UPDATED Witness List

Hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
On

“S.598, The Respect for Marriage Act: Assessing the Impact of DOMA on American Families”
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216
9:45 a.m.

Panel I

The Honorable John Lewis
United States Congressman
State of Georgia

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler
United States Congressman
State of New York

Panel II

Ron Wallen
Indio, CA

Thomas Minnery
Senior Vice President for Public Policy
Focus on the Family
Colorado Springs, CO

Andrew Sorbo
Cheshire, CT

Susan M. Murray
Ferrisburgh, VT

Panel III

Joe Solmonese
President
The Human Rights Campaign
Washington, DC

David Austin R. Nimocks
Senior Legal Counsel
Alliance Defense Fund
Washington, DC

Edward Whelan
President
Ethics and Public Policy Center
Washington, DC

Evan Wolfson
Founder and Executive Director
Freedom to Marry
New York, NY

Marc Solomon Joins Freedom To Marry As National Campaign Director

Marc Solomon

NEW YORK, NY, March 1, 2011) – Marc Solomon, who led the historic campaign to defend the freedom to marry in Massachusetts and has worked with Freedom to Marry as senior consultant since November, is joining Freedom to Marry’s staff as National Campaign Director, effective immediately.

 

"This is a moment of great opportunity for the movement to win the freedom to marry.  The Obama Administration has said it will no longer defend marriage discrimination in court, we have a nationwide majority for marriage that we will continue to grow, the freedom to marry is within reach in several states in 2011, and crucial lawsuits add urgency to our work.  Now is the time to expand our central campaign strength, with Freedom to Marry’s Roadmap to Victory as the pathway forward and personal stories making the case for why marriage matters as our fuel,” said Freedom to Marry founder and President Evan Wolfson.  “With his deep campaign experience and unparalleled track record in marriage battles around the country, Marc Solomon is the best person bar none to manage the all-hands-on-deck Freedom to Marry national campaign to get the job done.”

 

As Executive Director of MassEquality, Solomon led the campaign to defeat two constitutional amendments in the first freedom to marry state in the nation, beating back attacks by the Catholic Church, President George W. Bush, Gov. Mitt Romney, and the right-wing anti-gay industry.   Following the victory in Massachusetts, Solomon consulted with state-wide equality organizations in Connecticut and Vermont, as well as Freedom to Marry, as part of the nationwide effort to end marriage discrimination.  During his tenure as Marriage Director of Equality California following Proposition 8 , Solomon led the largest state effort in movement history to make the case for marriage through face-to-face conversations, with a special focus on building support in communities of color, helping grow public support for the freedom to marry in California from 44 percent to 50 percent.

 

"I am thrilled to join Freedom to Marry and help grow the urgently needed campaign to win marriage nationwide,” said Solomon.  “Freedom to Marry’s vision has always been to move forward on personal, state, and federal fronts, with focus and collaboration, with multiple methodologies and partners in the work, with a relentless focus on  victory.  Freedom to Marry has a tremendous team and visionary plan, and I am excited to bring what I’ve learned over the past decade to Freedom to Marry and enlist more people am across the country in this cause and campaign.”

 

As National Campaign Director, Solomon will take on responsibility for integrating all parts of the organization’s work in addition to continuing his role overseeing the campaign on several signature projects, ranging from enlisting new and compelling public figures as Voices for Equality to supporting key states in the final push to win marriage.  He will also help guide the organization’s new federal push and support Freedom to Marry’s groundbreaking new Why Marriage Matters campaign, , which aims at  persuading the next slice of reachable Americans.   

 

“In Massachusetts, we believe that every person ought to be able to marry whomever they love, and thanks to the efforts of people like Marc that is now a reality,” said Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.  “I congratulate Marc on his new role, and know that he will continue to be an effective advocate for advancing marriage equality efforts across the nation.”

 

Solomon has extensive background in advocacy, public policy, and media, having served as a Senate policy adviser in Washington, D.C. and researcher for Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.  In May 2009, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick presented Marc with the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s prestigious Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award, given each year to someone who espouses FDR’s ideals “with respect to democracy, justice, individual freedoms, and citizenship.”

 

Solomon graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors in Political Science and Economics from Yale University and holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.  In 1999, the Rockefeller Foundation named Solomon as one of 24 of America’s next generation leaders and invited him to participate in its prestigious two-year Next Generation Leadership fellowship program.  

 

***

 

Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end federal marriage discrimination. We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.

Hawaii Legislature Passes Civil Unions Bill!

Just a few weeks after Illinois' civil union bill was signed into law, Hawaii is rushing to join in the action. Today, the Hawaii State House passed SB 232 by a vote of 31-19, following up on an earlier 19-6 vote by the State Senate on similar legislation. The bill needs to go back to the Senate for a quick concurrence on amendments and then on to Democratic Governor Neil Abercrombie's desk, who has promised to sign it into law, unlike Republican Governor Linda Lingle who vetoed an almost identical measure named HB 444 last year.

Interestingly, Hawaii's civil unions bill, unlike California's comprehensive domestic partnership law, is open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples of any age:

Senate Bill 232 would grant same-sex and heterosexual couples the ability to enter into a civil union with all of the rights, protections, benefits and responsibilities of traditional marriage.
 
The House changes — recommended by the state Attorney General's Office — clarify that because civil unions will not be recognized under federal law, certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that apply to husbands and wives in Hawaii would apply with the same force and effect to partners in civil unions. Family Court will also have jurisdiction in matters of annulment, divorce and separation in civil unions, as the court does over marriages.

Reactions to the news of Hawaii's historic step came swiftly from the usual suspects:

Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry:  

“By again resoundingly passing a civil union bill that Governor Neil Abercrombie has promised to sign, Hawaii’s legislature acted to acknowledge the state’s loving and committed gay and lesbian couples and their families and to provide them a measure of protections under the law – protections of particular importance during these tough economic times.   This is a victory for all families, because it strengthens the lives of many couples and their loved ones while taking nothing away from anyone else, thereby strengthening the entire ohana, the entire community.  Freedom to Marry applauds Equality Hawaii for its leadership in securing needed protections for Hawaii’s families. 

“While a welcome step, civil union is no substitute for the full measure of respect, clarity, security, responsibilities, and protection of marriage itself.  States that have created civil union as a means of both giving and withholding – providing legal protections while withholding the freedom to marry and all its meaning – have found that civil union falls far short of marriage with all its tangible and intangible significance in our lives.  Many of those states – Connecticut, New Hampshire, and even Vermont, which first created civil union – have since pushed past civil union to marriage, recognizing the inadequacy and unfairness of a separate and unequal status. 

“Loving and committed same-sex couples have the freedom to marry in 12 countries on four continents – as well as in 5 states and the District of Columbia here at home – and the sky has not fallen and the sun continues to rise every morning.  As soon as the governor signs the final bill, Hawaii should move swiftly to finish the job by ending exclusion from marriage itself, allowing all committed couples to share in the same responsibilities, same respect, and same rules.”

Equality Hawaii and Human Rights Campaign 

“Today is a great day for the people of Hawaii,” said Alan Spector, co-chair for Equality Hawaii.  “The action taken by the House today sends a strong message that our state recognizes the importance of moving towards equality.  Providing equal rights to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is long overdue and we thank all those who have stood with us to make this day a reality.” 

After minor changes were made in the House, the bill now heads to back to the Senate for agreement on the amendments before heading to Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his signature.  SB 232 SD1 passed the Hawaii Senate on January 28, by a 19-6 vote.  Except for some technical corrections and implementation amendments, the bill is identical to HB 444, the civil unions bill passed in 2010.  That bill passed the House and Senate with near supermajorities before Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed it.  No override vote was held. 

“The Human Rights Campaign congratulates the Hawaii House of Representatives for overwhelmingly supporting the equal dignity and respect of Hawaii’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families,” said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.  “No child of a same-sex family should have to grow up with less protections or thinking their family is less legitimate or loving than others.” 

The Human Rights Campaign and Equality Hawaii have worked closely together since 2008 to build both public and legislative support for civil unions.  Through this joint effort, tens of thousands of phone calls, emails, postcards and handwritten letters have been sent to legislators urging them to approve this legislation. 

Mahalo, Hawaii!

POLL: Most New Yorkers Support Marriage Equality

A new Quinnipiac poll has confirmed that marriage equality has majority support among almost all segments of the New York population.

Would you support or oppose a law that would allow same-sex couples to get married?

Tot    Rep    Dem    Ind    Men    Wom    HsHolds
Support   56%    41%    69%    55%    54%    58%    59%
Oppose    37     52     25     39     40     34     36
DK/NA     7      7      6      7      6      8      5

Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, supports a bill to extend civil marriage rights to all same-sex couples, but Republicans now control the State Senate and even when it was under narrow Democratic control a marriage equality bill failed 38-24 in December 2009.

Freedom To Marry's Evan Wolfson issued a statement on the new poll results:

"Today’s poll is yet another confirmation that a strong majority of New Yorkers believe that loving and committed same-sex couples should share in the freedom to marry.  New Yorkers, like all Americans, are looking at their gay neighbors, co-workers, and family members and realizing that they deserve the same fairness, the same treatment, and the same respect under the law as everyone else.  The Assembly has passed a freedom to marry bill three times. Governor Cuomo has urged and promised action to end this exclusion.  It is indeed time to act.  Both chambers should swiftly sent a marriage bill to the governor’s desk so that New York can move forward, as New Yorkers want and deserve.”

In 2011, the states most likely to enact marriage equality are Rhode Island, Maryland and New York.