NEWSMARRIAGE EQUALITY

If you're reading this, you've probably noticed that your mayor is not on the current list of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry -- a broad-based and nonpartisan group of mayors who believe that all people should be able to share in the love and commitment of marriage.

More than 175 mayors from across the U.S. have signed the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry Statement, because they understand that the strength and health of our cities are enhanced when all families are protected and supported. And they know that many people in loving and committed same-sex relationships are active participants in improving our communities, and they've seen how important marriage has been for them and their families.

Here's how you can launch a powerful petition on Change.org, urging your mayor to join Mayors for the Freedom to Marry:

Imagine that you have two options: 1. End your life early with your true love, or 2. Live longer without your better half.

After more than 19 years with his spouse, Bradford Wells is being forced to make such a decision. His husband, Australian citizen Anthony John Makk, has only three more days to legally live in the United States. If Bradford and Anthony were in a “traditional” marriage, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would bend over backward to keep the couple together. Unfortunately for them, and 26,000 other same-gender, bi-national couples in the US, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) bars federal recognition of same-gender marriages. USCIS must abide by a discriminatory law that the Obama administration refuses to defend.

Bradford and Anthony have been married for 7 years, one of the first gay couples to marry in the US after Massachusetts legalized marriage equality. In the eyes of the federal government, however, they are little more than glorified roommates.

Bradford is also suffering from AIDS complications. Anthony is his caregiver but Bradford cannot move to Australia because of his health. Without his US health insurance and the care of his husband, Bradford’s prognosis is grim. Not only is their relationship in jeopardy due to discrimination and bigotry, Bradford’s very health hangs in the balance.

The couple pays joint taxes like a heterosexual married couple but do not receive any of the benefits. “We have all the responsibilities, do the penalty parts of marriage, but then when it gets to the same benefits, we’re told no, you don’t qualify. The government has decided they don’t like who I marry. For the federal government to say this isn’t a marriage – it’s degrading,” says Bradford.

You might know New Balance as the major brand of shoes and athletic wear found at marathons, road races, and gyms around the country.

Here's what you might not know about the company: their Chairman, James Davis, has given upwards of $500,000 to Mitt Romney's campaign for President -- the same Mitt Romney who just signed a viciously anti-gay pledge from the National Organization for Marriage that amounts to a full-on assault on the civil rights of LGBT Americans.

New Balance's Davis was revealed as a major donor to Romney's campaign this week, after a filing with the Federal Election Commission disclosed a number of Romney's top supporters. With a $500,000 donation, Davis is quite the Romney backer. And as such, his cool half million is going to support a Presidential campaign that has taken a sharp and increasingly anti-gay turn.

Which is why it's time to send New Balance a message asking whether they stand by their Chairperson's donation to an extremely anti-gay politician who wants to take marriage rights away for same-sex couples. Send the company a message now.

Today President Obama endorsed the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that would strike down DOMA and give legally married gays and lesbians the same federal rights and responsibilities as married straight couples.

Shin Inouye, a spokesperson for the White House, told Change.org, "The President has long called for a legislative repeal of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act,” which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people – our families, friends and neighbors," Inouye said.  "He is proud to support the Respect for Marriage Act, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congressman Jerrold Nadler, which would take DOMA off the books once and for all.   This legislation would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.

The question was originally asked by Metro Weekly's Chris Geidner earlier today at the White House Press briefing. Watch White House Press Secretary Jay Carney respond to Geidner here:

There are more than 1,000 federal rights and responsibilities gays and lesbians do not have access to because of DOMA. Thousands of legally married gays and lesbians throughout the country are taxed differently, are denied social security survivor benefits, and same-sex spouses of military personal will not receive the same death benefits of straight spouses when their loved ones die in combat.

Pressure is increasing on Apple to remove their online store from the “Christian Values Network” (CVN), after several other corporations have removed their stores this week. More than 3,500 people have signed Western Washington University student Ben Crowther’s Change.org petition to Apple. CVN is used as a fundraising tool by several anti-gay, anti-women organizations like Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council.

Late Thursday, the Wells Fargo and Delta Airlines online stores were removed from CVN. Prior to removing their store, Wells Fargo was offering up to $300 to the religious charity of the shopper’s choice, money that could be donated to “Focus on the Family” or the Family Research Council. Delta offered $3.00 per ticket.

Jessica Beavers, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo told Change.org. “Occasionally team members may act on their own to place ads on various sites that do not meet Wells Fargo’s brand and marketing standards.”

“We requested the removal of this ad because it was not compliant with Wells Fargo’s brand and marketing standers,” Beavers said.

When asked if this was a reaction to Wells Fargo’s brand being used to raise money for the anti-gay “Focus on the Family” and the Southern Poverty Law Center identified “known hate group”, the Family Research Council, Jessica Beavers reiterated, “We have really strong and tight marketing standards. We have compliance standards in place and any time we see those violated we ask the site to remove our brand.”

Beavers continued, “Wells Fargo has very clear policies in place to support our LGBT team members and the LGBT community. In 2011, Wells Fargo was ranked number 2 in Diversity Inc’s list of top 10 companies for LGBT employees.”

She also mentioned Wells Fargo’s 100% HRC Corporate Equality Index score. Which she said Wells Fargo was, “very proud of.”

In January 2011, Change.org first brought you the story of Mark Reed-Walkup and Dante Walkup, a Dallas couple who was legally married in Washington, D.C., yet couldn’t get their marriage announcement printed in the Dallas Morning News’ “Weddings” section. The Dallas Morning News told Mark and Dante that same-sex couples weren’t welcome in the “Weddings” section, and that because Texas state law banned same-sex marriage, the paper was justified in omitting same-sex couples from its pages.

Mark and Dante wouldn’t take no for an answer. In sharing their story with Change.org, Mark and Dante urged Change.org members to put pressure on the Dallas Morning News, and demand the paper get rid of this discriminatory and anti-equality policy.

After months of pressure from nearly 15,000 Change.org members, groups including GetEqual, as well as the persistent work of Mark and Dante – who even filed an anti-discrimination complaint against the Dallas Morning News – the paper has announced that they are changing their policy and will print same-sex wedding announcements in their “Weddings” section. Publisher James Moroney said that “it’s the right thing to do,” and that the decision will be effective July 10, 2011.

Today is a historic day! New York's Senate passed a bill that will grant the freedom to merry for gays and lesbians!

The bill will be signed by Governor Cuomo who lobbied extensively for the passage of the legislation. The law will go into effect 30 days after the bill is signed.

New York's progression to a marriage equality state will have an enormous positive impact on thousands of LGBT families and their children. Extending marriage to same-sex couples will protect more than 42,000 couples raising 14,000 children.

It will also be a huge economic stimulus. Couples from anywhere in the country can get married in New York under the new legislation. However, because of federal and state DOMA laws, those marriages will not be recognized in most of the country.

"God."

You normally hear that word used in arguments against same-sex marriage and/or LGBT equality in general. Indeed, it's not a word that we usually hear linked to LGBT issues in a positive form, and it is especially not a word that you hear linked to LGBT issues in a positive way in a government forum. But one amazing Minnesota representative voiced his opinion this week. And according to Rep. Steve Simon, being gay is a gift from God.

The  matter came up because the House's Civil Law Committee has approved a resolution that intends to place a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage before voters. Last week, a judiciary committee in the Minnesota Senate passed the Senate version of the same bill. Somewhere Michele Bachmann is giving an interview, looking into the wrong camera, and smiling.

The proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage advanced last week in Minnesota, clearing a Senate judiciary committee. The bill is also in front of the State House. Recognizing the inequality and injustice at hand here, a collection of law professors in the state have now gotten together to urge legislators to vote against the ban.

Sixty three professors have signed a letter targeted to lawmakers, urging them to vote no on the discriminatory ban. Minnesota already has a state law that bans same-sex marriage, though some argue that law is vulnerable. If lawmakers approve the ban, the definition of marriage will up for a public vote in 2012.

“The proposed amendment would set in constitutional cement the existing hardships on thousands of families,including children, that many in the legal profession serve,” the group of lawyers wrote in the letter. “Attorneys practicing in such diverse areas as family law, estate planning, real estate, tax, and beyond represent people across Minnesota who confront complex legal challenges because they are currently unable to enter a legally-recognized relationship with a same-sex partner.”

It's a case of "like father, like daughter" for the Clinton clans. It seems that Chelsea Clinton has some fantastic things in common with her ex-President father -- a sense of compassion, a belief in social justice, a will for equality for all Americans. Etcetera.

Both Bill and Chelsea spoke out this week in support of marriage equality - more specifically, of marriage equality in New York State. Though Hillary Rodham Clinton has not jumped onboard the same-sex marriage boat, it is nice to know that Bill's views have evolved over time. In 1996, he signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law. Now, after 15 long years, Bill has made it public where he stands today. Better late than never, right?

"Our nation’s permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ – deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community. That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them. Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation," Bill wrote in statement released by the Human Rights Campaign on Thursday. "Now we should do it again, in New York, with marriage equality."