Another Exciting Week for Marriage Equality

Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota …

Less than one month after Rhode Island made New England an all-equality region, and less than one week after Delaware passed the freedom to marry, the Minnesota legislature passed a marriage equality bill, making Minnesota the 12th marriage equality state, and the first state in the Midwest to include same-sex couples in marriage via the legislative process.

The victory in Minnesota is especially noteworthy because, less than one year ago, an anti-gay constitutional amendment was before Minnesota voters, one that would have enshrined discrimination in their state constitution. Minnesotans narrowly rejected that discriminatory amendment, but few expected the tide to turn so quickly toward fairness. However, equality advocates and supporters, Minnesota legislators, and equality-supportive Governor Mark Dayton seized the moment and worked together to make it happen.

Today, May 14th, Governor Dayton will sign marriage equality into law on the front steps of the Capitol in St. Paul. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman issued a proclamation temporarily renaming the city’s Wabasha Street Bridge the “Wabasha Street Freedom to Marry Bridge.” Rainbow flags fly proudly from the bridge, and May 13-17 has been declared “Freedom to Marry” week in St. Paul.

Beginning August 1, same-sex couples will be able to marry in Minnesota.

… Illinois next?

 With the equality momentum building, which state will be next? The most likely is Illinois. On Valentine’s Day, the Illinois Senate passed a marriage equality bill. Since then, equality advocates have been working with the Illinois House to secure the 60 votes necessary to pass a bill there. Backers say they are close, and Governor Pat Quinn reiterated his support for equality this past weekend, urging lawmakers to get a bill to his desk before their spring legislative session wraps up at the end of May.

Said Governor Quinn, “It's time to vote. Illinois passing marriage equality into law, I think, sends a great signal to the people of our state and the people of America. So it's important to Illinois (that) the House of Representatives get going.”

We hope that Illinois will become the 13th marriage equality state within the next few weeks.

 

What about DOMA and the inclusion of same-sex couples in immigration reform?

As exciting as the state equality achievements are, as long as the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is in place, the marriages of same-sex couples will continue to be excluded from federal recognition.

Among those most affected by this lack of federal recognition are binational same-sex couples. Because of DOMA, legally married gay and lesbian Americans cannot sponsor their foreign-born spouses for residency. As such, they are treated differently than married heterosexual couples. Until DOMA is found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or repealed by Congress, binational same-sex couples will face the threat of having their families unfairly torn apart.

As the U.S. Senate considers comprehensive immigration reform, Vermont Senator and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy has proposed two amendments intended to help protect binational same-sex couples and their families.

Read Sen. Leahy’s proposed amendments here.

Find out more about the amendments and how immigration inequality has impacted one Vermont couple here.

In a video interview with Politico.com, Sen. Leahy says that discrimination is not the Vermont way: "In our state, we feel very strongly about this, that people should not be discriminated against, and I want to find a way, that couples who are married legally, when one is not an American citizen, they can have the same rights as all other couples married legally."

To share your thoughts with Sen. Leahy on the inclusion of same-sex couples in immigration reform, leave a message at his contact page.

 

VFM will keep you informed

Vermont Freedom to Marry will continue to keep you informed on state equality progress as well as on what is happening nationally, in the Supreme Court and in Congress. Federal marriage inequality is a Vermont issue.

With so much forward momentum, it’s an exciting time to stay engaged and work together toward equality for all American families.

 

It's an exciting week for marriage equality progress in the U.S.

The last few days have seen some important marriage equality progress in the U.S., and there could be more to come in the next weeks and months.

This week, Delaware’s Senate Executive Committee voted to advance a marriage equality bill to the full Senate floor. Great news!

Since, last week, the Delaware House passed their version of the bill, this means Delaware is now only one step away from the freedom to marry. The full Senate vote is scheduled for next Tuesday, a few short days from now, and it is expected to be close. Equality supporters are cautiously optimistic, and Delaware Governor Jack Markell has said he will happily sign a marriage bill if it reaches his desk.

In Colorado, civil unions went into effect May 1st at midnight. Well over 100 happy couples lined up and were issued licenses. This is a big step forward for Colorado, one supporters worked very hard to achieve. While the push for marriage equality will continue, civil unions will enable same-sex couples in Colorado to have crucial protections for their families right now.

Illinois and Minnesota still have bills in the works for this session. The Illinois Senate passed an equality bill in February, and Governor Pat Quinn believes they are within striking distance of a successful House vote. Stay tuned for news from those states.

Last but far from least, on Thursday, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed marriage equality into law in Rhode Island!

Speaking to jubilant supporters who were there to watch the historic bill signing, Governor Chafee said, "I know you have been waiting for this day to come. … But I am proud to say, now, at long last, you are free to marry the person you love."

Rhode Island becomes the tenth equality state in the nation, and since it was the last state in New England without the freedom to marry, New England will now be an all-equality region. Rhode Island same-sex couples can obtain marriages licenses beginning August 1.

With two milestone marriage equality cases awaiting a Supreme Court decision, and with this encouraging forward momentum in the states, there is cause to be hopeful that 2013 will be a benchmark year in the fight for the full freedom to marry for all Americans.

As Governor Chafee wrote earlier this week in an op-ed for the New York Times, “Why I Am Signing Marriage Equality Into Law”:

The push for equality will continue to grow stronger in statehouses, courthouses and polling places in every state in America. … As this shift continues, marriage equality will inevitably become law in more and more states. The states that cling to their old prohibitions will then be viewed as the outliers. Like Rhode Island in recent years, they will be seen as islands of old thinking.

May the shift toward justice continue.

Celebrate 15 Years of LGBTQ community diversity and equality progress at the annual RU12? Community Center Dinner. It is RU12?'s signature event, bringing together community members and allies from across Vermont for a fabulous evening of dinner and entertainment. The night also supports RU12?'s health and human rights programs, social and educational events.

This year's celebration is an Emerald City Extravaganza that includes dinner, a live and silent auction with over 100 auction items, an awards presentation, followed by performances, including a collection of cabaret favorites from broadway and television star, Eric Millegan.

It's a great way to meet up with old friends and new, have fun, and recognize LGBTQ community leadership and achievement.

• When: Saturday, May 4th, starting at 5:00 pm
• Where: Emerald Ballroom, Sheraton Burlington Hotel & Conference Center, 870 Williston Road

For more information and to get your tickets, click here.

 

On schedule with ObamaCare requirements, Vermont’s health benefit exchange, which is called Vermont Health Connect, starts up on October 1, 2013.

Since same-sex couples and their families are barred from federal benefits due to the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a Vermont Freedom to Marry supporter worries that she and her wife could lose their current Vermont health insurance coverage once the exchange, a provision of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, takes effect.

She’s not the only Vermonter with concerns.

As Vermont’s resource on issues affecting same-sex couples and their families, Vermont Freedom to Marry brings you some explanation, reassurance, and resources for LGBTQ families who wonder how changes to Vermont’s health insurance system will impact their medical costs and insurance eligibility.

Though mandated by the federal Affordable Care Act, Vermont Health Connect is a Vermont program.  The federal realm comes into play only in how eligibility for tax credits are figured.  Nothing in federal law would prevent couples from getting an individual or family plan under Vermont Health Connect.  It’s up to each family to choose what works best for them.

Under the new federal law, insurance subscribers might qualify for financial help with premiums and expenses.  Whether an individual qualifies for financial assistance (called “applied premium tax credits”) is based on modified adjusted gross income.

Modified adjusted gross income is a number on each person’s federal tax return.  Each person’s eligibility for tax credits that could reduce their medical costs (premiums and/or cost-sharing such as co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance; and out-of-pocket expenses) is based on their individual modified adjusted gross income.

Since, legally, all married same-sex couples must file as “single” at the federal level (until DOMA is repealed or ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court), each spouse’s income will appear lower than if they’d filed as “married.”  This could actually be an advantage that results in higher premium subsidies for families of same-sex married couples.  (Whereas for heterosexual married couples who file taxes jointly, IRS law determines eligibility for Applied Premium Tax Credits (APTCs) based on their joint Modified Adjusted Gross Income.)

For example, consider two married women who have one child together:  One mom’s annual salary is $100,000; the other’s is $30,000.  The moms get to choose which of them includes their child’s health insurance on her plan. If the child’s health insurance goes on the plan of the mom who earns $30,000, her lower income will qualify them for more subsidies and lower costs than if the child went on the higher-earner’s insurance.

Learn more and ask questions at the Vermont Health Benefit Exchange website, where resources for the LGBTQ community and others will be updated regularly.

Or email your questions here:  vthealthconnect@state.vt.us

 

Happy Fourth Anniversary!

Many of us remember the moment when, four years ago today, Vermont House Speaker Shap Smith announced,

"Please listen to the results of your vote. Those voting, `Yes,' 100; those voting, `No,' 49.”

Cheers erupted and tears were shed as the Legislature overrode Governor Douglas’s veto of the marriage equality bill, making Vermont the fourth state in the nation to legalize marriage equality and the first to successfully do so via the legislative process. In 2013, with equality secure in our state, we can proudly say, Happy Fourth Anniversary, Vermont!

Vermont’s civil rights leadership was clear on that April day, and that day was a culmination of leadership that began years before and continues into the present as more states move into the equality column and two landmark marriage cases sit before the U.S. Supreme Court. On anniversaries such as this, it is important to look back at how far we’ve come, while also looking forward to the challenges ahead. Vermont remains central in the push for full federal marriage equality.

As Governor Shumlin said this week in an interview with BuzzFeed, "One might argue that marriage equality was hatched in Vermont."

From Baker v. Vermont to the Supreme Court

A direct line can be drawn from the historic arguments before the Vermont Supreme Court in 1998 to the historic arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court this March.

In a recent interview with Vermont Public Radio, former Vermont Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Amestoy reflected on the Baker case, saying, "Baker played an important part in developing the national dialogue about same-sex marriage."

Thanks to video producer and longtime VFM volunteer Joseph Watson, and Middlebury Community Television (MCTV), we can, at this crucial turning point in the movement towards equality, revisit “gavel to gavel” coverage of the oral arguments in Baker v. Vermont, arguments that resonate as fully today as they did fifteen years ago. Click here to watch (then click on the URL below the gray video box).

We can also revisit the energized rally (click on the URL below the gray video box) that followed the oral arguments, which includes statements by Vermont Freedom to Marry co-founders Beth Robinson (now a Vermont Supreme Court Justice) and Susan Murray, with their Baker co-counsel Mary Bonauto, as well as the Baker v. Vermont plaintiffs. Though we have made remarkable progress since 1998 in the fight for equality, what Susan Murray said at the time still holds true:  “This is not the end of the road, this is just the beginning.”

If you’d like to see these important pieces of Vermont history play on your local Community Television Channel, find your station here and request that they show Baker vs. State and Vt Freedom to Marry Task Force Rally 11/18/98, both produced by MCTV.

Continuing Vermont’s role as an equality leader

Because of our long history of leadership on marriage equality, Vermonters have a unique opportunity to continue speaking out for justice. Many Vermonters may not realize that while we have in-state equality, the legal marriages of same-sex couples in Vermont--and elsewhere--will receive no federal recognition until the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is struck down. Furthermore, even if we are victorious in United States v. Windsor and Section 3 of DOMA is ruled unconstitutional, same-sex couples in non-equality states will likely be left in legal limbo. Our work in Vermont is not finished until ALL same-sex couples have the freedom to marry and ALL marriages receive equal recognition from the federal government.

Join VFM and other community leaders for LGBTQA Leadership Day

If you’d like to participate in the ongoing dialogue around marriage equality and other issues important to Vermont’s LGBTQA community, join VFM, the RU12? Community Center, Outright Vermont, and Vermont CARES for the eighteenth annual LGBTQA Leadership Day at the Vermont Statehouse on Friday, April 12. For complete information on this year’s Leadership Day, click here.

VFM hopes to see you in Montpelier on Friday!

With so much momentum on our side and with Vermont’s continuing leadership, 2013--like 1999, 2000, and 2009--promises to be another year to remember on the road to full equality.