The Celebrity Couple Otherwise Known As McFreed

California Supreme Court Gay Marriage Decision Announcement Tomorrow May 15, 2008

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:38:28 -0700

The McFreeds excitedly but nervously report...

SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

NOTICE OF

FORTHCOMING FILING

The Supreme Court has indicated that the filing of a written opinion in the following case(s) is forthcoming. At the filing time designated below, the filed opinion(s) will be accessible at the judicial branch web site (www.courtinfo.ca.gov) and copies will be made available at the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office.

[Generally, the description set out with regard to each case is reproduced from the original news release issued when review in the matter was granted, and is provided for the convenience of the public and the press. The description does not necessarily reflect the view of the court, or define the specific issues that will be addressed by the court.]

IN RE MARRIAGE CASES

S147999 (A110449, A110450, A110451, A110463, A110651, A110652

San Francisco County JCCP – 4365)

Argued in San Francisco 3-04-08

This case includes the following issue: Does California’s statutory ban on marriage between two persons of the same sex violate the California Constitution by denying equal protection of the laws on the basis of sexual orientation or sex, by infringing on the fundamental right to marry, or by denying the right to privacy and freedom of expression?

Opinion(s) in the above case(s) will be filed on:

Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

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Baltimore Sun "Gay Rights At Standstill" Article Responses

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Sun, 11 May 2008 10:02:08 -0700

Sean reports...

Well the letter to the editor I submitted was not selected for publication unfortunately but here are the three that were published in the Friday May 9, 2008 issue of the Baltimore Sun in response to their "Gay Rights At Standstill" article. It is obvious that they chose to take two articles from activists rather than regular folk, and the one regular folk got a small bullet basically. Sometimes the activists miss the larger picture, however, I tend to agree with the third article by Shannon Avery more than anything. I beleive that the political groups seem to be more interested in keeping true to a broad vision and forgetting that it is truly about building a wall with bricks, each as important as the other in laying a solid foundation for our ultimate goals. I think Stefan and I will have to become more involved in the coming months and year!

Response #1: Dan Furmansky - Executive Director, Equality Maryland

Maryland Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley's insensitive and incendiary comments in The Sun's article "Gay rights at standstill" (May 4) reek of a fundamental disdain for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and families headed by same-sex couples.

I agree that most members of the general public don't rank the issue of same-sex unions as one of great importance to them because they are trying to "maintain their households," as Mr. Brinkley suggests.

Unfortunately, Mr. Brinkley seems to be blind to the household concerns of same-sex couples, even in his own district, because to him we are merely "shrieking from rooftops" without any merit to our arguments.

But we have real problems too. In fact, same-sex couples in Maryland have, on average, lower incomes, lower rates of homeownership and lower likelihood of health insurance coverage than our married counterparts.

Of course, as a state employee, Mr. Brinkley is lucky that he may carry a spouse on his health insurance. But that's not the case for state employees with partners of the same sex.

It is unlikely that Mr. Brinkley has ever worried about being shut out of the medical decision-making process for his wife or been told he couldn't accompany her in an ambulance en route to the hospital.

When Mr. Brinkley or his wife passes away, the surviving spouse will inherit tax-free the house they shared together during their marriage, unlike surviving partners in same-sex couples, who are taxed as though they are inheriting 50 percent of the home from a stranger.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are as diverse as the general population: Indeed, some of us are as insensitive to the struggles of other groups as Mr. Brinkley is to ours.

But Mr. Brinkley and those who think as he does hold the power in this situation.

Until they see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals as actual human beings and not as "shrieking" people with no real problems, our families' pleas will be falling on deaf ears.

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Response #2: Hugh Silcox, Baltimore

Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley sees his gay and lesbian constituents as "shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights."

At least we have his attention.

Next year, maybe he'll even listen.

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Response #3: Shannon Avery, former chairwoman of Baltimore's Community Relations Commission and a former member of Gov. Martin O'Malley's transition team

As a gay rights activist, I too am disappointed in the stalled legislative efforts to achieve equality in Maryland. However, my disappointment does not flow to Gov. Martin O'Malley but rests at the front door of Equality Maryland, which is - unfortunately for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders - the only statewide gay rights advocacy organization in Maryland.

Equality Maryland's all-or-nothing approach to the marriage issue was ill-conceived and politically imprudent. A simple head count of the legislators would have steered even a rookie lobbyist toward a strategy of backing civil unions.

The reason that many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Marylanders worked to elect Mr. O'Malley was clear two years ago and remains so today. The governor, who as a member of the Baltimore City Council sponsored the first domestic partnership law in Maryland, has demonstrated his support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality time and time again.

After the devastating loss of the gay marriage case in the Court of Appeals in November, the governor stepped up to the plate and offered to sponsor a civil union package.

But Equality Maryland said no. It was marriage or nothing.

Now it is Equality Maryland that must take responsibility for this year's losses, and not blame the governor or any other elected official or activist who may have had a different opinion about what was possible in Maryland's legislature in 2008.

I know why I worked hard to elect Mr. O'Malley.

He cares about ending discrimination, and he is pragmatic enough to get it done.

I only wish that Maryland's leading gay rights advocacy organization could do the same thing.

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Response to Dateline Maryland: Gays Rights At Standstill

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:03:01 -0700

Sean says...

This was what I submitted as an editorial response to The Baltimore Sun Article "Gay Rights At Standstill" today.

Maryland Senate Minority Leader David R Brinkley (R) was quoted as saying the following in The Baltimore Sun's May 4, 2008 Sunday Edition article "Gay Rights At Standstill":

"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households… It just doesn't resonate."

Two years ago my partner Stefan and I met on of all things Match.com and fell in love like many couples have. We live together and both contribute to a mortgage. We both have stable jobs with benefits. This fall we looked over my new benefits package and made a few selections. We met with a financial planner together in September to prepare for immediate financial and retirement goals.

We're paying down credit card debt in preparation of buying a new home. We took out a home equity loan to fix up the house and replace our broken heating/cooling unit. We bought a new washer, dryer, and dishwasher just the other month. My partner bought a new car because his 14-year-old one needed replacing. We both were shocked just the other day by what we were paying for gas electricity lately. We make a grocery list together every other week.

We're excitedly looking into adopting a child in the next two years and went to a seminar about it this past weekend. We will soon be worrying about daycare and school, I am sure, once we legally adopt a child according to Maryland law. We're emotionally and financially preparing to support our own parents as they get older.

But Senator Brinkley of course doesn't think we will want to think, plan, or do any of this. Senator Brinkley says we aren't a household or even people who care about maintaining one. We're apparently not even interested in buying things or saving money. We apparently don't clip coupons, drive, commute, vacation, turn on the light when we get home at night, or own property in his mind either I guess.

How could we both be so delusional? Why didn't anyone tell us we weren't normal before? I guess it didn't quite resonate.

Thanks Senator Brinkley for keeping us informed and representing our interests in the General Assembly. We won't shriek so loudly next time.

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Dateline Maryland: Gay Rights At StandStill

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:55:51 -0700

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.gayrights04may04,0,5065065.story

baltimoresun.com

Gay rights at standstill

Governor's inaction during Assembly disappoints activists

By Laura Smitherman

Sun reporter

May 4, 2008

Gay and lesbian activists thought they had a friend in Martin O'Malley.

As a progressive mayor in Baltimore, O'Malley attended gay pride parades and signed into law a measure to protect transgender people from discrimination. When he ran for governor, he said he supported civil unions and wanted to extend benefits to same-sex partners of state employees, as he had done for city workers.

But two years into O'Malley's first term in Annapolis, neither has happened. He largely stayed out of the debate over legal recognition for same-sex unions that fizzled in the General Assembly, and aides say his financially strapped administration probably won't grant benefits for at least another year.

The lack of momentum for gay rights in the State House is the latest disappointment for activists after a lawsuit to force the legalization of same-sex marriage failed in state courts. While O'Malley's allies say he has done as much as he can in the face of significant hurdles, activists say they feel sidelined.

"There's just not a lot to be enthusiastic about, because the governor hasn't done much to help us move forward," said Dan Furmansky, director of Equality Maryland, a leading gay rights group. "Why did the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community work so hard to elect this person? What do we have to show for it at this point?"

The fits and starts of gay rights in Maryland reflect what has happened nationally. Four years after Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriage, no other state has followed suit, and only a handful offer civil unions, an institution that dissatisfies many activists who consider it separate but unequal.

O'Malley plans to sign two bills this month that would grant same-sex couples some rights of married couples, including the ability to visit each other in the hospital and an exemption from certain property taxes.

Spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the governor would revisit proposals concerning other benefits and protections, and that he is willing to work with the legislature on civil unions.

"We didn't accomplish everything that we wanted to do," Abbruzzese said. "And there's a conversation that needs to continue on civil unions, but the reality is, a marriage bill will not pass through the Maryland General Assembly."

O'Malley has reached out to the gay community during his political career, drawing volunteers and campaign dollars.

As mayor, O'Malley implemented a law that bars discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on gender identity, and he formed a gay and lesbian task force to be a liaison with City Hall.

O'Malley might have been stymied in forwarding gay rights as governor by budget battles that forced him to expend political capital to get tax increases and spending cuts approved.

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat whose gay brother died of AIDS after an Air Force career during which he remained closeted, said that budget problems also consumed his early years before he could focus on progressive measures, such as a statewide prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"What you're seeing now is a political reality," Glendening said.

But Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, a Republican representing Carroll and Frederick counties, said inaction on gay rights measures in Maryland reflects the public's greater interest in other issues such as the flagging economy and education. He opposes same-sex unions as institutions that undermine traditional marriage.

"You have this group that's shrieking from rooftops that they need these rights, and everyone else is just trying to maintain their households," Brinkley said. "It just doesn't resonate. I don't see fire hoses and dogs being turned on gay activists. That, to me, is not a civil rights problem."

The push for health and other benefits for domestic partners of government workers has been under way in Maryland for more than 15 years. Baltimore adopted the policy in 1993 under Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke. Some officials at the University of Maryland, College Park resolved to do the same for faculty and staff members the next year - a fight that continues.

Robyn S. Zeiger, a professor at the university, said she and her partner of 25 years have paid escalating amounts for her to be privately insured. "I'm really tired of hearing it's about the budget because civil rights transcend money, and I hope O'Malley does the right thing," Zeiger said.

Providing the benefits to all state employees would cost about $3 million a year, according to legislative analysts.

Abbruzzese said action by the governor to grant the benefits would have been unnecessary had legislation recognizing same-sex unions passed during the session. He said it is too late now for money to be set aside for the benefits in the next fiscal year.

The fate of statewide transgender protections is unclear. The governor's Commission on Human Relations had planned to file the bill, but Del. Peter A. Hammen, a Baltimore Democrat and committee chairman, declined to consider it unless the governor lobbied to rally support in the Senate, where it failed in committee last year. In the end, the administration did not introduce it.

It is also unclear whether activists can build enough support for legislation recognizing civil unions or same-sex marriage. Many say the biggest obstacle would be the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where some had hoped that Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Prince George's County Democrat and evangelical Christian bishop, would provide the key vote for such legislation this year. He did not.

"I would like to see civil unions, and we've got one vote in the Senate to change, and that's it," said Del. Maggie L. McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat who is openly gay. "But it's going to be hard to push for civil marriage in the next two years. You can't just get people to roll easily on these votes."

laura.smitherman@baltsun.com

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Baltimore & Other Maryland Cities Support Gay Marriage Resolution

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:29:10 -0700

The McFreeds report...

The civil gay marriage idea keeps building steam for 2009! in Maryland!

The Advocate

March 20, 2008

Baltimore Council Supports Civil Marriage Act

The Baltimore city council became the fourth Maryland jurisdiction to pass a resolution supporting the expansion of civil marriage for same-sex couples. The resolution was passed by a 9-3-3 vote on Monday. Baltimore joins College Park, Kensington, and Takoma Park in supporting the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, according to Equality Maryland. Of the 24 state legislators who represent Baltimore, at least 11 have committed to voting for the act.

"Expanding civil marriage to include same-sex couples is the fair thing to do," council member Bill Henry, who introduced the resolution, said in a statement. "I am proud of my colleagues who stood up for all of our families in Baltimore. I hope this resolution will nudge those state legislators from Baltimore who are not yet enthusiastically supporting this historic legislation to rethink their position."

In February, city council president Stephanie Rawlings-Blake submitted testimony in support of the act. "Marriage is a unique institution on many levels: religious, spiritual, and social," she wrote. "Marriage is also a civil institution that affords many economic and contractual benefits that are not afforded to people as individuals. I do not believe that people should be denied any of these rights just because they do not fall under the legal definition of marriage." (The Advocate)

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Maryland Senate Approves Expanded Rights for Unmarried Couples

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:22:30 -0700

The McFreeds report...

In our state of Maryland, some things are looking up on the legal front for gay lesbian couples. It's not a done deal yet but it's getting there!

Senate approves expanded rights for unmarried couples

By Kristen Wyatt

The Associated Press

5:40 PM EDT, March 18, 2008

With gay marriage a no-go this year, Maryland senators voted today to allow unmarried couples more rights to make medical decisions for each other.

The Senate voted 30-17 to allow domestic partners, who could be gay or straight, to make medical or funeral decisions for each other if they meet certain criteria to show they are a committed couple.

Unwed couples would have to show "mutual interdependence" such as joint checking accounts or common property ownership before qualifying as domestic partners eligible for the decision-making powers.

The bill comes amid complaints from unwed couples that they are sometimes denied life-or-death decision rights or medical privileges such as riding in an ambulance or visiting a partner on life support.

The measure now heads to the House. It could become the most substantive gay-rights matter lawmakers take up this year. This is the first general session of the legislature since Maryland's highest court said last year that the legislature is free to remove gender definitions in state marriage law, but top lawmakers have said gay unions won't be considered this term.

Supporters of the medical bill approved today argued that in lieu of gay marriage, lawmakers ought to at least allow medical decision-making powers for unmarried couples.

"We're not willing to do the right thing and open up marriage to everyone in Maryland," said Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery, who supports gay marriage.

The bill sparked days of debate from senators who questioned how couples would designate each other their domestic partners. Some also questioned whether the bill would open the door to gay marriage later.

"In society today, we promote marriage. Marriage between one man and one woman," said Sen. Alex Mooney, R-Frederick, who opposed the measure. "You're giving spousal rights to unmarried people."

Another Republican, Sen. Janet Greenip of Anne Arundel County, worried the measure would demean marriage and give undue rights to what she called "highly unstable" relationships.

"This is not about you. This is not about me. This is about the children. What kind of future are we leaving for our children?" Greenip asked.

The only Republican to support the bill, Sen. Allan Kittleman, said he wanted to allow couples who can't marry for legal reasons the medical rights spouses have. He cited elderly couples and a widow who cannot marry her longtime partner because she'd lose benefits.

"I rise in support of this bill, and it's not an easy thing for me to do," said Kittleman, the Senate's second-ranking Republican. Later, Kittleman added, "This isn't simply about homosexuality."

After a short debate, the Senate approved the measure 30-17 today. Only four Democrats voted against it. The measure now heads to the House.

The legislature is also considering measures to exempt domestic partners from paying certain transfer taxes when one person dies, and a measure to add domestic partners to the list of people exempted from paying inheritance taxes.

Oddly, the bills have made allies in a way of gay-rights activists and gay-rights opponents. Gay-rights activists, citing a long debate over what-if scenarios made possible by the medical decisions bill, supported the medical bill but say lawmakers would be better to simply open marriage to gay couples.

"I think going down this road is going to illuminate legislators as to why marriage equality is the right answer," said Dan Furmansky, head of Equality Maryland, the state's largest gay-rights group.

And opponents of the medical bill said almost the same thing -- that the medical bill is a step toward gay marriage. It's an unusual alliance.

"It is kind of ironic how it's worked out," said the Rev. Rick Bowers, a Columbia pastor who is head of Defend Maryland Marriage, which opposes gay unions. "But it's because we all see it as a step in the same direction. It's an incremental step toward gay marriage."

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Washington State Expands Domestic Partnership Law

nobody@vox.com(Sean & Stefan) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:16:28 -0700

The McFreeds report...

Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire signed a bill Wednesday that will expand the state's Domestic Partner Law to provide more than 160 new rights and responsibilities to registered domestic partners of the state. The new law goes into effect June 12, 2008.

Governor Gregoire has been a long time supporter of civil rights for members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and we sincerely thank her for signing this historic measure into law,” said Equal Rights Washington executive director Connie Watts. "We're thrilled that the legislature has taken this action to protect Washington’s vulnerable families, and especially thank the legislators in Olympia who helped to move this bill forward. We were glad to see that the floor debates were constructive and civil." The bill passed the senate this month by a 29-20 vote and passed the house last month by 62-32.

Recent polls conducted by the University of Washington show an increasing number of Washingtonians support equal rights for the LGBT community. In 2007, 73% expressed support for legal recognition of same-sex relationships, with 59% of state voters saying that same-sex couples deserve identical rights to those afforded to their straight peers. (More information can be found at: www.washingtonpoll.org) (The Advocate)

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