Alaska gay marriage
Alaska One of Only Five States With No Court Case Fighting Marriage Ban
WASHINGTON – Dozens of court cases challenging state constitutional bans on marriage equality own been filed across the country in recent months. Yet in five states – Alaska, Georgia, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota – there is currently no litigation challenging the constitutionality of their state marriage bans. Today, 33 states prohibit marriage for same-sex couples, either in the form of statutory law or amendment to the state’s constitution.
“Alaska’s committed and loving same-sex attracted and lesbian couples earn the rights and protections that come with marriage, plain and simple,” said Fred Sainz, vice president for communications at the Human Rights Campaign. “Since the Supreme Court’s landmark marriage rulings last year, not a single declare marriage ban has survived a federal court challenge. It’s only a matter of time before marriage equality is the statute of the land in every corner of this great country.”
Approved in 1998, Ballot Measure 2 amended Article I, section 25 of the Alaska Const
Hearing Tomorrow in Alaska's Lgbtq+ Marriage 'Catch-22' Could Impact Other States that Tie Benefits to Marriage
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ANCHORAGE - An Alaska state court will listen arguments tomorrow in a lawsuit highlighting the "Catch-22" of a state banning gay marriage and then saying marriage is the only way its employees can get health, pension and insurance benefits for their partners.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in express court in 1999, shortly after Alaska's voters passed a Constitutional amendment barring gay marriage. While the lawsuit does not try to invalidate that initiative, the ACLU says that in light of the state prohibition, using marriage as the litmus evaluate for benefits constitutes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender, thus violating the state Constitution.
"It's patently unconstitutional for a state to say you have to be married in order to gain benefits, while at the same time refusing an entire class of people the option of getting married," said Ken Choe, an ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project staff attorney, who will facilitate argue the case this week in Anchorage. "It's a classic 'Catch-22,' and somet
Marriage Equality Arrives in Alaska
WASHINGTON– Today, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess ruled Alaska’s homosexual marriage ban is unconstitutional, making Alaska the latest state to see such a ban struck down in court since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its historic marriage rulings last June. In Hamby v. Parnell, five couples sued the articulate arguing that Alaska’s forbid on marriage equality violates the U.S. Constitution. In his ruling, Judge Burgess wrote, “The court finds that Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage and refusal to recognize same sex marriages lawfully entered in other states is unconstitutional as a deprivation of basic due process and equal protection principles under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” With today’s ruling, 30 states plus the District of Columbia now guarantee marriage equality for same-sex couples. In 1998, Alaska’s constitutional amendment was the first state constitutional ban in the nation prohibiting queer couples from marrying.
“According to today’s federal court decision in Alaska and numerous others over the last year, there i
Alaska Beacon: Murkowski and Sullivan vote to advance gay marriage bill to U.S. House
Alaska’s two U.S. senators joined 10 other Republicans on Tuesday in voting to advance legal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages.
The Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the Senate in a 61-36 vote, now goes to the House, which passed a different version of the bill earlier this year.
The votes of both senators were expected; each senator had voted in favor of a procedural motion to advance the bill toward final channel two weeks ago.
In a prepared statement, Alaska’s senior senator, Lisa Murkowski, said she was proud to vote in favor of the bill. Murkowski has been a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage rights and had signaled assist for the bill earlier this year.
Dan Sullivan, Alaska’s junior senator, said earlier this month that he does not believe the bill is necessary but because it expands legal protections for churches that decline to support gay weddings, he was willing to vote for it.
Speaking Tuesday on the floor of the Senate, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said he was grateful for Sullivan, who worked behind the scene
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