Voice for Equality: Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker is an American businessman and elected official from Massachusetts. He was a cabinet official under two Massachusetts governors, spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and is a Republican candidate in the 2010 Massachusetts gubernatorial election. Baker chose openly-gay Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei as his running mate and he is campaigning against former independent candidate Christy Mihos for the Republican nomination. He is running as a social liberal (in favor of the freedom to marry and abortion rights) but a fiscal conservative, stressing job creation as his primary focus. Learn more here.

On December 8, 2009, KnowThyNeighbor.org published a piece on LGBT politics in Massachusetts focusing on Baker's staunch support for marriage equality:

KnowThyNeighbor contacted GOP frontrunner Charlie Baker months ago before he made his own announcement for run for Governor and asked Mr. Baker all about his stance on marriage equality and LGBT Rights. Of course we know now that Baker included his support for marriage equality in his announcement speech and even went as far to talk publicly about his own gay brother. But at the time I made my outreach to Baker, Scott Brown was not running for Kennedy's seat and my concerns were that Brown may be the Party's choice as Lt. Governor. Baker let me know perfectly clearly that he would not choose as a running mate anyone who would have a different opinion on an issue (marriage equality) that he felt so strongly about.[Link]

Freedom to Marry salutes Charlie Baker as another Republican Voice for Equality! Learn about other Voices for Equality here.

If Ms. Baker's support inspires you - get involved.

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality today!

NOM robocalls attack pro-LGBT Mass. Senate candidate

dcagenda
January 16, 2010
The National Organization for Marriage is apparently sending out robocalls in Masschusetts smearing pro-LGBT Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley for supporting the freedom to marry and encouraging a vote for the Republican nominee in the election on Tuesday. [Link]

OP-ED: I Do... Want Benefits, Too

Boston Globe Sunday Magazine
December 7, 2009
Alison Lobron writes that the fight for marriage equality has exposed the fact that single people are unequal to married couples when it comes to obtaining benefits. [Link]

Reflections on Massachusetts and Marriage Equality

Street Prophets
December 6, 2009
Danish Brethern writes about the Mass. Supreme Court decision that allowed gay couples to marry in the state, saying it "is not only simply a determination of legality, but an affirmation of the morality and justice behind recognizing the rights of homosexuals to be fully equal. [Link]

Same-Sex Couples Speak Out Against So-Called Federal Defense of Marriage Act

The Associated Press
November 17, 2009
In court documents filed Tuesday, married Mass. gay couples suing the government over a section of the federal DOMA said the marriage ban violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution because it denies them access to federal protections afforded to straight married couples. [Link]

U.S. Justice Department: Mass. Can't Force Federal Marriage Benefits

The Associated Press
October 30, 2009
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday argued in court papers in a lawsuit filed by the state of Massachusetts that states honoring the marriages of same-sex couples cannot force the federal government to provide protections to those couples because the so-called federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) remains law. [Link]

Massachusetts Schools Figuring in Maine Marriage Equality Debate

Central Maine Morning Sentinel
October 30, 2009
Although Maine Attorney General, Janet Mills, has stated that local school boards determine what is discussed and taught in Maine schools, and that Maine law includes a religious accommodation for parents if 'course content conflicts with sincerely held religious beliefs,' many voters are still looking at Massachusetts for education cues. [Link]

Support Marriage Equality in Maine here.

Hey America: There is No Massachusetts Public School Scare!

Good As You
October 22, 2009
Good As You responds to claims from anti-gay groups who say that there is an outcry among Massachusetts parents who are concerned with LGBT issues being discussed in the classroom: "The vast majority of Massachusetts parents are either happy that their state has become a more inclusive place, or at the very least, are understanding of why their personal faith views cannot be injected into the public school classroom." [Link]

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley Sends Letter to Congress Supporting the Respect for Marriage Act

Office of Mssachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley
September 25, 2009
The Respect for Marriage Act, which is sponsored by Congressmen Jerrold Nadler of New York and has 91 co-sponsors, seeks to fully repeal all three sections of DOMA, including Section 3 which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman and is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Coakley’s Office in July 2009. “I applaud the legislative efforts to take direct action to repeal DOMA and fully support this bill because it addresses the failings of the law head-on." [Link]

Black Episcopal Congregation Celebrates Lesbian Marriage

The Huffington Post
September 10, 2009
Irene Monroe discusses the importance of St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Mass., hosting the marriage of Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons and her wife, Mattie Hayes. [Link]

Rachel Maddow Video: Marriage Equality Is A 'Defense Of Marriage Act' In Massachusetts

News1News
September 3, 2009
Rachel Maddow explains that, contrary to what many conservative talking heads predicted, marriage equality in Massachusetts has not destroyed the institution of marriage, it has actually strengthened it. Divorce rates in MA are now the lowest in the country - down to pre-World War II levels. [Link]

How Ted delivered Marriage to Massachusetts

Bay Windows
August 27, 2009
Marc Solomon, who serves as marriage director for Equality California, shares his personal recollections of Ted Kennedy as a leader for LGBT rights. "Thank you Senator Kennedy, for making a future for us all that is more compassionate, more equitable, and more just-for LGBT people." [Link]

After 5 Years of Legal Marriage Equality, MA Still Has Lowest Divorce Rate in US

Talk To Action
August 23, 2009
Commenting on the August 20th Chicago Tribune story by Steve Chapman, which asked supporters and opponents of marriage equality to predict its social impact on states with the freedom to marry, Bruce Wilson points out that Massachusetts has already had marriage equality for half a decade - with absolutely no ill effects. [Link]

Cambridge Mayor to Marry Her Longtime Partner

The Cambrige Chronicle
August 19, 2009
The Cambridge Chronicle posts a press release from openly lesbian Mayor E. Denise Simmons' office announcing that the mayor plans to marry her longtime partner "in a celebration of love, acceptance, and togetherness." [Link]

Voice for Equality: John Kerry

U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is the Junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. He is 14th in seniority in the Senate, having served since 1985. Kerry is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and serves on the Finance, Commerce, Science & Transportation, and Small Business and Entrepreneuship Committees. As the Presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, he was defeated by 34 electoral votes in the 2004 presidential election by President George W. Bush. Senator Kerry is a Vietnam veteran, and was a spokesman for Vietnam Veterans Against the War when he returned home from service.

On October 22, 2008, Senator Kerry delivered a speech at Tufts University, afterwhich he was asked if he supported marriage rights for same-sex couples. His answer: "Absolutely." [Link]

Then, on July 9, 2009, Kerry voiced his support of his state's lawsuit challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley:

The courts have always been the last resort for those seeking justice under the law, and I am proud to stand with Attorney General Coakley and wholeheartedly support her efforts to right a wrong that passed the Senate over the objections of both of Massachusetts’ Senators.

In 1996, I voted against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act not just because I believed it was nothing more than a fundamentally political ploy to divide Americans, but because it is unconstitutional. Thirteen years later, I still defy you to find a single Senator who can credibly argue that it is within the Senate’s power to strip away the word or spirit of a constitutional clause by simple statute. DOMA should never have passed and should never have become the law of the land. Unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair, today the human cost is especially clear and compelling. Denying same sex couples the same rights and protections under the law as enjoyed by other couples has absolutely nothing to do with defending marriage. This lawsuit is a necessary step in ensuring everyone in Massachusetts can live their lives and raise their families secure in the knowledge that their commitment to each other doesn’t make them any less an American than their heterosexual families, friends and neighbors.

Nominated for Voices for Equality by: Tahlib

**Make your NOMINATION for a Voice for Equality

Summer of 2009 an active one for Marriage Equality

The Detroit News
August 5, 2009
Deb Price reviews the summer of 2009, during which Massachusetts has brought "a gem of a lawsuit" against the federal Defense of Marriage Act, former President Clinton has carefully endorsed marriage equality (Evan Wolfson: "President Clinton is Exhibit A in the power of talking with people about our lives - and not writing them off. It shows people can and do move."), President Obama has urged the repeal of DOMA, and much more. [Link]

Senator Leahy Supports DOMA Repeal

HRC Back Story
July 16, 2009
Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supports the federal government honoring marriages between same-sex couples. Sen. Leahy: “Well I think now that you have states that are voting for and having marriage equality – Vermont has, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, others, Connecticut – the Defense of Marriage Act is unnecessary, should be repealed.” [Link]

Massachusetts Sues Federal Government Over Definition of Marriage

The Associated Press
July 8, 2009
Massachusetts, the first state to legalize marriage equality, sued the U.S. government Wednesday over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said. [Link]

Respect carries rewards not measured in dollars

Business Insurance
July 6, 2009
A recent report by the Williams Institute concludes that the legalization of freedom to marry could hand New England states an economic advantage. The underlying research follows an idea that many employers embraced more than a decade ago: Equality attracts well-educated, creative professionals whose abilities drive company growth. In a world where competition is everything, local economies, like employers, need every advantage they can muster. But equality isn't just a business argument. Treating people with respect, no matter their differences, makes us all better human beings. [Link]

No Floor Vote for Freedom to Marry in Rhode Island

The Associated Press
June 28, 2009
Rhode Island seems almost certain to remain the only New England state that does not recognize gay marriage after measures legalizing same-sex unions stalled just before the part-time General Assembly ended the bulk of its annual work. This despite a poll released by Brown University last month which showed 60 percent of registered Rhode Island voters would support a law allowing gay couples to marry, and 75 would support a law allowing civil unions. [Link]