JUNEAU — Stephanie Figarelle and Lela McArthur traveled more than 3,300 miles from their Anchorage home to get married, and in high fashion they became the first same-sex couple to exchange vows at the Empire State Building.
The ceremony was put on by event planner Colin Cowie, and the couple was treated to some of the best New York had to offer: rings from DeBeers, a stay at the Pierre Hotel and gowns from Kleinfeld.
But another thought weighed on some who attended the wedding.
“It’s rather sad that someone has to travel all the way to New York to get married because they don’t have the ability to do so legally (in their home state),” said Cowie.
“Equality’s a beautiful thing,” Figarelle said. She also told reporters she hopes to see Alaska legalize same-sex marriage.
It appears unlikely that will happen anytime soon. Seven states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage, including Alaska’s nearest neighbor, Washington state just last week. But a ban was crafted into the state constitution almost 15 years ago and federal law passed during that era both give advocates hurdles to clear.
While the newlyweds are legally married in New York, their marriage certificate carries no legal weight in Alaska.
The 1998 amendment defines marriage as between one man and one woman, and the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act limits rights provided by same-sex marriages to only the state in which a couple was married.
Since Alaskans approved its amendment almost 2-to-1, public opinion is shifting on same-sex marriage.
Forty-five percent of Alaskans approved of unions for people of the same gender in 2010, according to a New York Times poll, almost double the 23 percent approval recorded from 1994-96.
Even shifting opinion couldn’t make same-sex marriage legal, nor would simply passing a law.
To amend the Alaska Constitution, a bill has to pass the House and Senate, and then be signed into law by the governor, just to open up a ballot measure for voters to consider changes to the constitution. Then at the next election, a majority of voters would have to approve it.
But many lawmakers who wrote the language of the original amendment and passed it into law have only shuffled offices in the Capitol.
Gov. Sean Parnell was then a senator from Anchorage, and he helped pass the amendment through two committees and again through the Senate. Now he’s governor and would have to sign into law any bill that called for a ballot measure. Plenty of other opponents to same-sex marriage remain in office and positions of influence.
Parnell’s spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said the governor “has supported and continues to support Alaska’s constitutional provision defining marriage between a man and a woman.”
Advocates hoped a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, which overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban, would have wider impact so court challenges could take place around the country. But the Ninth Circuit judges offered a narrowly-worded opinion only guaranteed to affect California.
Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of ACLU of Alaska, said Alaska has never enacted marital relation benefits or domestic partnership laws for same-sex couples equivalent to marriage. California did, and those were the basis of the court’s decision. Mittman said without those in place in Alaska, it would be difficult to make an argument unless there is an authoritative ruling on the California decision or another case by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Other than a bill proposed by Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, which would prohibit discrimination on a basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity, there’s not much movement in Juneau. And that bill was introduced early last year but still awaits its first hearing in the House State Affairs Committee.
“Right now, in Alaska, it’s perfectly legal for an employer to say, ‘Sorry, we don’t hire people like you.’ A restaurant could refuse to serve a gay man just because he’s gay,” Mittman said. “Until people have basic rights, until we stop discrimination, we can’t focus on anything else.”
“Sometimes you have to wait for the right moment, the right issue, the right people,” Kerttula said. “But Alaska has always led on issues of civil rights, and we need to educate people and show that this is a civil rights issue. You can’t discriminate against people because of who they are.”
Residents of Anchorage will vote on April 3 on an initiative that would serve the same purpose as Kerttula’s bill.
The Alaska Family Council is heading opposition to that initiative.
“We don’t support bullying, harassment or anything like that,” said Jim Minnery, council president. “These are just efforts to try to develop law to affirm gay and lesbian lifestyle. This is a private property issue, and it’s not an immutable issue like race. This isn’t about telling people who they can or can’t love,” he said. “Government has always recognized marriage as a very unique institution, here and everywhere else in history.”
Some officials acknowledge that their opinions on issues that surrounded the 1998 debate have changed.
Sen. Fred Dyson, an Eagle River Republican who was a staunch supporter of the amendment, said he still believes only in the traditional concept of marriage. He said a government “stamp of approval” on relationships that are a departure from Western values would be damaging, but some beliefs he once held changed as he met members of the gay community and heard their struggles firsthand.
“Maybe in my old age I’ve gotten a little wiser,” Dyson said. “I have a lot of compassion for the situation they’re in. I’m glad to do anything I can to make sure gay couples have all the legal rights that heterosexuals have.”
Comments (62)
Add commentDon't get on the Big Guy's bad side.
Did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for a reason? Hopefully Alaska isn't heading for the same fate.
How can a state that is so
How can a state that is so liberal regarding ganja also be so close minded regarding homosexuality?
How can a state that is so
How can a state that is so liberal regarding ganja also be so close minded regarding homosexuality?
There is no intelligent reason to discriminate against gays
Mike
If you don't like gay
If you don't like gay marriage, don't get one. It's as simple as that. If two women get married you will not be struck down by God. Leave people be, let them get married.
hmm..
heterosexuals can't even keep the sacraments of marriage... why not let the gays give it a shot?
And there was a LOT more going on at Sodom & Gomorrah than two guys cuddling in bed....
Rings from deBeers? Surely
Rings from deBeers? Surely they weren't accepted, in the principle of civil rights?
Fin
Fin said it best.
Gay marriage should be the least of Alaska's worries. Scratch that, I meant America.
Kerttula said gay marriage is
Kerttula said gay marriage is a civil rights issue - maybe not -
"The current debate over same-sex marriage has been framed as a "civil rights" issue, but this is incorrect. Civil rights are defined as the extension of 13th and 14th amendment rights to minorities, where minority status is based on race, religion or ethnic background. Lifestyle choices do not fall under this definition."
It's more like a "special" group of people want to change the definition of marriage.
Does anyone else see the gay marriage fight as a backdoor way to punish and destroy churches and the services they provide (like adoptions, food banks, schools, etc.). As more states legalize gay marriage 1st Amendment religious freedom rights will become an issue, just like the fight Obama picked with the Catholic Church over contraception coverage.
The contempt that the left holds for Christianity is on full display daily.
In the utopian, Marxist society that the progressives envision, churches cannot be in competition with the centralized power of government.
I see an alterior motive. The gay promiscuous lifestyle does not mesh with conventional marriage. What is the real endgame here?
Calypso, in 250 years the Catholic Church
will be trumpeting how they were at the forefront (and Christianity in general) of helping gays achieve their right to marry. Much like they do now with slavery, voting rights for women, interracial marriage, etc., I might add.
This is how these things play out though, unfortunately, a lot of people must suffer first.
Mike
Hey Calypso, in a secular,
Hey Calypso, in a secular, constitutional republic churches can not be in competition with the centralized power of government. It's sort of in our constitution. You should read it some time.
Also, welcome back. I hope the firmware update went well. You definitely do sound more Gingrich-esque.
I was never gone - I'm always
I was never gone - I'm always living in your head, p!
Yes, there is separatian of church and state in America BUT BO can't also mandate to the churches from Central Planning. We have that silly Bill of Rights. And I wouldn't characterize America as secular exactly, not yet anyway. We're still a center-right Christian country.
What do you think about my gay marriage hypothesis? Another one of those ends-justify-the-means dog and pony shows that the left is so famous for?
Gays don't want to be married - then they'll have all those messy divorces to deal with.
Marriage is a civil
Marriage is a civil institution. If you were interested in being honest, you wouldn't claim the government is "mandating" anything from a church, because you know that's not the case.
And your hypothesis is stupid. It's not even a hypothesis. A hypothesis is based on an educated guess, it's not some Hannity-inspired BS scare tactic concocted solely for political gain.
p, are you secretly listening
p, are you secretly listening to Hannity and Gingrich? How do you know so much about them? I promise not to tell your comrades.
Did you miss the news last week? BO sure is "mandating" something to churches.
And this - "After the Illinois state legislature passed a requirement that says adoption and foster-care agencies — to be eligible for state money — must consider same-sex couples as potential foster-care or adoptive parents, the Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois decided to shut down most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in the state." And in Massachusetts and D.C. also.
Oh, it's happening.
Are you trying to tell me
Are you trying to tell me that babies up for adoption are property of the Catholic church? Or that the government MUST give money to Catholic churches with absolutely no stipulations?
Try reading the quotes you snip from HotAir before posting them next time.
I saw a show this weekend
I saw a show this weekend about a guy who has a sexual and emotional relationship with his car named Frank or Charlie or something. At first I thought the guy was a little nutty because he didn't seem to be joking. Now I get it - he wants to file taxes as "married" and have the oil changed in his car covered by his health insurance. Crazy like a fox he is........
Well, you made my point, p.
Well, you made my point, p. Catholic Charities provided a service by placing babies in good homes with the help of state money. When the state put parameters on the money that the Catholic Church didn't morally agree with, they were forced to close their doors.
Now that service of placing babies into good homes will probably fall under the auspices of government.
Mission complete...church agency shuts doors. Big Brother takes over.
This only goes to prove
if you have money you can do anything, legal, illegal, morally corrupt, or acceptable.
Money is the grease that makes it happen.
Those two ladies marriage and this story would have never "been" if they didnt have the money to buy it all. A normal working stiff or stiffette wouldn't be able to enjoy what those two were.
So instaed of argueing about same sex marriage, you should be discussing what all money can buy those that have and how deep in the mud the can shove those that havent.
Personally I think the story is insulting to the average person whether homosexual or not. Its just some reporter and two females wanting to "show-off" .
and I have a great relationship with my sheep and we're not worried about legal marriage I already claim her on taxes anyway.
Not in my Christianity
The Christ I believe in allows for all marriage. The texts in the bible refering to homosexual relations are the same that refer to eating animals with cloven hooves. They were texts written not by God but by man, to pass on observations and create social norms. There is even a passage telling women not to drink while pregnant. You don't hear a lot of chest beating over the eating of bacon.
Christ told us to love one another, and not pass judgement. As I journey through life, ever striving to do as He would have me do. I know through prayer and inner reflection. He is for faithful marriages between two people who love and respect one another. Gender is as irrelevant as race.
For those who are sure I am wrong, that is ok. Even if my belief is wrong, how I live it is not. We have been instructed to let the Father judge, to do less than allowing others to live as they would, is surely proof we are blinded by the log in our own eye. My marriage is weakened or strengthed by the actions of myself and my spouse, not by who else gets married.
Klassie as always...
I knew this would bring out the best in some commenters.
Remember what Lot did at S&G? He offered his virgin daughters to the mob to be raped in order to be a good host to his guests. Nice dad. And then he had sex with those very same daughters after getting wasted on wine. Surely a holy person! That is probably why Christians think gay marriage will end in incest.
Churches that want to be active in the public sphere must adhere to the rules of society. You know who said that? Justice Scalia.
Odd how these people who keep saying "Keep the government out of my life!" want to inject their views in other people's lives.
Equal protection under the law means equal protection period.
Being gay or lesbian is not a choice.
Alaska, the land of the free! The land that entombed discrimination into what was before that change a model document. It is our shame, our albatross.
Ask a homosexual - me!
Hellooooo everyone!!! (twinkling fingers at the room, blowing kisses!) Let's do the gay chat!
HEY HEY ! (clap clap)
WE'RE GAY! (clap clap)
AND GOD MADE US THIS WAY! (clap clap)
I'd like to start with a quote by a commedian: "I support gay marriage! Gay couples have every right to be as miserable as heterosexual couples!"
Joking aside, this anti-gay spirit in our Constitution is a serious blemish on our state. It really is.
And with public attitudes changing more in favor of gay rights, I am convinced that within a decade, this anti-gay marriage amendment to our Constitution will be repealed.
And that will be a GREAT day! Literal dancing in the streets.
I really hate responding to Calypso because I know his type, but I feel I must...
Calypso, sweety, behavior is a choice. Sexuality is not. What rational person would "choose" to be gay? And, the people who constantly trumpet that being gay is somehow a choice, are never gay people, they are people like you, whose purpose is to deny people like me the same rights as you.
Then, your ilk like Santorum like to cloud the issue with sensationalism. Whenever anyone says "gay marriage" in his presence, one of the first words out of his mouth is "bestiality." The two have absolutely nothing to do with one another, but he sure likes to create the impression that they do.
As for Catholic institutions who place babies for adoption, this is an atrocity within itself and governments are right to shut them down. The Catholic church has shown repeatedly, to the tunes of hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements, that their church cannot be trusted to the welfare of children. Why this institution is even entrusted with anything is beyond me.
Being gay is not a lifestyle choice like being a smoker is. We cannot change how we were born. Behavior can be modified, but not sexuality. So your statement of discrimination based on lifestyle is wrong.
We don't want special rights. We want EQUAL rights. THAT is the end game you are looking for.
And we won't stop fighting until Adam and Steve can get married in the courthouse.
And we are winning.
Thank you to Beth Kerttula for her unending support of gay rights.
Love,
Jo Mac
Ivmykyk
I applaud you. Sincerely.
The Differance between Freedom and being dictated to...
What a stark contrast in the way these two opposing agendas operate. In Alaska we held a vote, to place the issue before the Alaskan people. In Washington (and states like them) they went behind the backs of the people and created law that forced law abiding citizens to obey or become criminals.
The difference is very clear, even though Alaska did everything right and above board these defiant deviants continue to deny the will of the people and act as though they are not effected by Alaska's law. Our Constitution was amended to define a marriage between a man and a woman.
Now in those states that intend to force their "lifestyles" on those who see their agenda for what it is (deviant behavior) we will continue to bring the issue to the attention of the voters until these dictators are put back under what ever rock they crawled out from under. it will take time, we allowed them to show us how compassionate and tolerant they really are and now that we see that they are a large part of what is causing our nation to tear its self apart. we will fix it...
I'll gay marry you, mpshake,
I'll gay marry you, mpshake, if you're feeling left out.
Marrying mpshake
I won't.
Unless he's hot, can make a good quiche and loves mimosas at brunch. Oh, and he has to know how to use a snow blower, chainsaw and margarita maker. In that order.
God, I'm fun and fabulous today, don't you all agree? Yes, yes, I do think so.
Eat your heart out, Paris.
Now, where's my poodle hiding? Oh, THERE SHE IS! Right next to my picture of Leo DiCaprio.
'Whenever anyone says "gay
'Whenever anyone says "gay marriage" in his presence, one of the first words out of his mouth is "bestiality." The two have absolutely nothing to do with one another,....'
Really? How do you know people that prefer bestiality weren't born that way?
Deviants.
Ha. Ha. mpshake, I read your profile. Seems you've been married before, as has your wife. Nice 'sanctity'.
Because if they were born that way...
Because if someone was born being predisposed to bestiality, then they could also be heterosexual OR homosexual. The two are mutually exclusive and have nothing to do with the other.
A sexual attraction to the same sex doesn't equate to having sex with animals. Attraction to the opposite sex doesn't equate to having sex with animals either.
If a man has sex with a little girl, that doesn't make him heterosexual. If a man has sex with a little boy, that doesn't make him homosexual. If an adult has sex with a child, that makes that adult a pervert and a pedophile, NOT a homosexual or heterosexual. Pedophilia and bestiality are disorders. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are not.
Nice try though.
Next, please.
Leviticus
Just being pro-active here for the christians...
Leviticus says that lying with a man (homosexuality) is an abomination.
The same book also says eating shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, etc., are abominations.
Leviticus 11:9-12 says:
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
So just you think about that Nancy, next time you drop that next crab pot in Lynn Canal! Jesus is watching you!
http://godhatesshrimp.com/
Jo Mac....1,542,559
The World....0
Maybe some people love their
Maybe some people love their dogs (or sheep) in a much different way than your average farmer and I'm sure the guy in a relationship with his car didn't just choose to have a deep love for an inanimate object. A car can't even play dress-up or mix Cosmo's so he too must have just been born that way.....Who is to judge?