Celebrating 41 Years!
Issue 9 Volume 42
FRIDAY February 28, 2014 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Victory! Arizona Governor vetoes anti-Gay bill Courtesy of AP
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has vetoed a bill that would have authorized discrimination against LGBT people in the state, as long as it was justified on “religious” grounds. “The bill is broadly worded and could result in unintended and negative consequences,” Brewer told reporters at a February 26 news conference. “After weighing all of the arguments I have vetoed Senate Bill 1062 moments ago.” “My agenda is to sign into law legislation that advances Arizona,” the governor added. “I call them like I seem them despite the tears or the boos from the crowd.” Brewer said she gave the legislation careful consideration, and consulted with lawyers, citizens, and lawmakers on both sides of the debate. Although the news conference was hastily called, a large crowd of pro-LGBT demonstrators gathered at the state capitol building in Phoenix before Brewer spoke. They broke into cheers when she announced the veto. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer
see Arizona page 8
Federal judge strikes Texas ban on same-sex marriage
A federal judge ruled on February 26 that the Texas law banning Gay and Lesbian marriages is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia said in his ruling that the Texas law did not pass even “rational basis review,” the lowest
standard of judicial scrutiny. “Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution,” Garcia wrote. “These Texas laws deny Plaintiffs access to the institution of marriage and its numerous rights, privileges, and responsibilities for the sole reason that Plaintiffs wish to be mar-
Oregon and the new Jim Crow Same-sex marriage fight shifts to discrimination measure
Benjamin Brink / The Oregonian
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
ried to a person of the same sex.” Consequently, Garcia said, the Texas law violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. “One of the court’s main responsibilities is to ensure that individuals are treated equally under the law,” he wrote in his decision. “Equal treatment of all individuals under the law is not merely an aspiration it is a constitutional mandate.” Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down state sodomy laws, and Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts decision establishing same-sex marriage in that state, led to a decisive shift in legal opinion on LGBT rights, Garcia said. Now, he continued, LGBT rights are enshrined in Supreme Court precedent. “Supreme Court precedent prohibits states from passing legislation born out of animosity against homosexuals, has extended constitutional protection to the moral and sexual choices of homosexuals, and prohibits the federal government from treating state-sanctioned opposite-sex marriages and same-sex marriages differently,” Garcia wrote. As expected, Texas Democrats hailed the decision, but Republicans vowed to appeal. “This is a historic day for the LGBT community and the state of
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum
by Denis C. Theriault Portland Mercury Special to the SGN
On February 20, in a compact legal filing, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum shook Oregon’s political bedrock with an announcement she wouldn’t defend the state’s 10-year-old constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in federal court. Joining a federal appellate ruling earlier this year that attaches “heightened scrutiny” to LGBTQ discrimination cases – akin to a legal power boost, sources say – Rosensee TEXAS page 8 blum’s decision all but paves the
way for a favorable ruling on marriage equality as soon as April. It’s looking good enough that the coalition pushing to overturn the state’s ban with a ballot measure this fall, Oregon United for Marriage, decided to suspend its campaign while it waits and watches. “This all suggests the court should move swiftly in Oregon,” says Evan Wolfson, head of the national group Freedom to Marry. That would be a hard-fought victory – and achieved with far less expense and effort than a state ballot fight in November. But it’s not see Oregon page 13