Louisiana Judge Wants to Rule on State's Gay Marriage Ban

The Christofascists are still reeling from the 10th Circuit ruling and the ruling striking down Indiana's same sex marriage ban.  Now U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman seeks to expand the scope of the case before him involving Louisiana's ban on same sex marriage.  No doubt we will be hearing screeches about "judicial tyranny" from the usual suspects.  With the tide continually turning against their agenda of hate and division, the "godly folk" will become even more hysterical and extreme.  The Advocate looks at developments in Louisiana.  Here are excerpts:

U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman threw a curveball Wednesday at the lawyers arguing both sides of a case over gay marriage in Louisiana, deciding he will rule not only on whether same-sex marriages performed in other states should be recognized in Louisiana, but also on whether gay and lesbian couples should be able to wed in the state.

Scores of similar lawsuits are working their way through courts across the country, some of them taking on the issue of recognizing existing marriages and others aiming more directly at the right to marry in a particular state.

The case before Feldman includes six couples, all of whom argue that Louisiana should recognize marriages performed elsewhere.

But at the end of 90 minutes of oral arguments in New Orleans, Feldman said he wanted to hear debate on all of the questions involved, saying it would be unfair to the public and the parties involved to issue a “piecemeal” ruling.

“I feel uncomfortable resolving some issues one way or the other and not all the issues one way or another,” Feldman said, asking for additional briefs within three weeks but putting off a decision about whether to hear more oral arguments.

The judge’s decision will likely mean a short delay in any ruling on the recognition issue, but it could greatly speed up a decision on whether same-sex couples can get a marriage license in Louisiana.

 Another outstanding issue before Feldman is whether Louisiana is violating the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech by forcing married same-sex couples to list themselves as single on tax returns.

Daily Press: Repeal the Marshall Newman Amendment

Despite the Internal Revenue Service's decision to recognize legal same sex marriages regardless of a couple's state of residency, married gay and lesbian couples in Virginia will be able to file joint federal tax returns next April.  Virginia - which has long boot strapped its tax returns on federal return forms and calculations - however will not recognize such marriages or allow joint returns.  That ruling is based on the opinion of closet case homophobe extraordinaire, Ken Cuccinelli.  Not surprisingly, Christofascists at The Family Foundation and other hate groups are lauding Cuccinelli's ruling.  The Daily Press (which has shifted from far right positions more recently) has condemned this discriminatory stance.  Here are editorial excerpts:

Our commonwealth continues to exhibit a discouraging propensity for ignoring individual rights through legislative fiat. The latest caveat illustrating that tendency is the state Department of Taxation's notice to gay and lesbian married couples.

According to the department's advisory, gay and lesbian married couples are not eligible for newly granted federal tax benefits.

That means, for now, while same-sex couples married in other states can file federal income taxes jointly, they must file as separate individuals for tax purposes in the state of Virginia.

The office of outgoing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli — who hung his hat, if not his career, on social issue crusades — maintains this is in keeping with the state's prohibition of same-sex unions. A 1975 law banning same-sex unions was reinforced in 2006 when Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a specifically heterosexual enterprise.

Ironically Virginia hasn't chosen to follow its own star regarding federal taxation policies for quite some time.. According to the taxation department's website:  "Since 1972, Virginia has conformed to federal income tax law. Whenever federal income tax law changed, the changes automatically affected Virginia income taxes, unless otherwise exempt. …."

Our founding documents — not the least of which is the 14th Amendment — go into specific detail about the rights of individual afforded by our Constitution. Then there's Article IV, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The "full faith and credit clause" means, among other things, that your valid Virginia driver's license is valid in Georgia, too. States honor and recognize the official acts of other states.  Government should not meddle in the private lives of its citizens. This concept is even more germane in the face of a changing society.

On these pages, prior to the Supreme Court ruling which affected DOMA interpretations, this Editorial Board advocated voiding discriminatory laws. That stance still holds true.  Virginians need to reconsider the constitutional marriage bans. All of our citizens deserve to expect fair treatment under the law.

New IRS to Allow All Married Gay Couples To File Jointly; Medicare to Follow Suit

In a welcomed move to many, the Internal Revenue Service has announced new rules that will allow all same-sex married couples to file joint tax returns.  The move will, however, cause additional tax preparation work for same sex couples in anti-gay states like Virginia where apparently, the Virginia Department of Taxation will recognize their marriages and separate returns will be still required.  Just another reminder that in Virginia and other Neanderthal states gays are not equal citizens and are continued to be punished for not conforming to Christofascist religious dogma.   The New Civil Rights Movement looks at the develop.  Here are excerpts:

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that new IRS policy for same-sex couples during a conference call with LGBT leaders today. The IRS will now accept joint returns from married same-sex couples no matter where they live.

According to the Huffington Post, under the new Treasury policy, filing status, employee benefits, IRA contributions, earned income, child tax credits, and income, gift and estate taxes, will apply to same-sex couples in exactly the same manner as they do with heterosexual couples, even if they live in a non-equality state. Unfortunately, the new policy does not extend to civil unions.

The IRS policy change comes on the heels of a similar announcement by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius earlier today. Like the IRS, Medicare will now use a “place of celebration” standard to grant Medicare benefits to same-sex couples.  

That leaves the Social Security Administration the “odd man out”. Currently the SSA is processing claims only from same-sex couples who live in marriage equality states while they review their policy.

Obviously, Social Security survivor benefits represent a huge issue and it is important that the current discriminatory policy be ended as quickly as possible.   Meanwhile, it is wonderful to see the discrimination based on anti-gay animus of the Christofascists steadily being undermined.  No doubt these hate merchants will be shrieking and wailing that the sky is falling merely because they cannot punish us for not buying into their ugly version of Christianity.