NM: Senate Committee Kills Domestic Partnership Bill

A bill that would have allowed Domestic Partnerships providing basic legal protections and recognition of same-sex couple relationships and their families under New Mexico law was tabled by a 7 to 4 vote during a New Mexico Senate Finance Committee hearing this evening, effectively killing the bill for this legislative session.

While the domestic partnerships bill had the strong backing of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, for nearly three weeks fierce debate has raged over the legislation. Several Republican lawmakers said that if the bill passed it would almost certainly lead to a lawsuit to bring same-sex marriage to the state.

The legislation would have establish that two unmarried people who live together as a committed couple are entitled to receive the same “rights and responsibilities” under state law as a married couple. Under the bill, both straight and gay couples could become domestic partners by filling out paperwork and paying a minimal fee to a county clerk.

Full Story from Lez Get Real
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IA: GOP To Try to Force Gay Marriage Ban Out of Committee

A legislative push to overturn the Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage is likely to begin Monday, according to the state’s largest gay-rights organization. After numerous meetings at the Capitol Thursday, Brad Clark, campaign director for One Iowa, told The Iowa Independent that he expects Republican lawmakers in the Iowa House to attempt to bring about a vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage by invoking Rule 60, which allows a majority vote on the floor of the House to pull a bill out of a committee even if the committee has not approved it.

Democratic leadership has repeatedly promised that the legislature would not discuss gay marriage this session. Gay-rights advocates have long believed conservative lawmakers would attempt some procedural move to force a vote on the issue in spite of Democratic opposition.

In the closing days of the 2009 legislative session, Republicans in both the House and Senate made numerous attempts to force a vote on a constitutional ban on gay marriage, including attaching it to a tax proposal and the state’s Health and Human Services budget. Democrats successfully blocked the efforts.

Full Story from the Iowa Independent
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NJ: Assembly Committee to Consider Gay Marriage Bill January 4th?

The Assembly sponsor of gay marriage legislation said yesterday he believes that after a volatile week in Trenton, further action on the bill could wait until after the holidays. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer), said the earliest it would appear in the Assembly Judiciary committee is Jan. 4, which would give the issue "a rest until after the Christmas holiday." "It's their desire to have it the first week in January," he said. But Gusciora said "anything was subject to change" in Trenton, acknowledging a plan to put the bill to a full vote in the Senate was scrapped earlier this week when there were not enough votes to pass it. Full Story from NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1260585907320340.xml&coll=1

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US House committee Passes Domestic Partner Benefits Bill

After a sometimes contentious debate, the U.S. House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed a bill Nov. 18 that would expand domestic benefits to include same-sex partners, according to the Washington Post. The 23-12 vote on H.R. 2517, the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, broke down along party lines, with Democrats prevailing. Republicans said the expansion would undermine the traditional concept of marriage being between a man and a woman. In a statement, lesbian U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said, "Today's actions mark another significant step in our march toward LGBT equaliy. Our movement is gaining momentum around the country and Congress is following the will of the people." Full Story from the Windy City Times: http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=23567

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