Democracy for New Mexico

DPNM Chairman Gonzales Releases Statement Supporting Prop. 8 Decision

Thank you Democratic Party of New Mexico for strongly standing up for equality, due process and the civil rights of all of us under the U.S. Constitution. This evening, the following statement was released by the DPNM in response to California's Prop. 8 being ruled unconstitutional in federal court.

"Today, after five months of waiting, our GLBT family members, friends, neighbors and allies in California have felt the joyful news that Proposition 8 has been ruled unconstitutional in a detailed 136-page decision by Judge Vaughn Walker of the 9th District Circuit Court.

"DPNM Chairman Javier M. Gonzales, applauded the decision of the Court by stating,

"Here in New Mexico, we are pleased by the news that Proposition 8 has been ruled unconstitutional and a deprivation of the rights of the GLBT community in California. While this victory is an important step in the march towards equality for all of our country's citizens, we are mindful that our journey is far from over.

"The Democratic Party of New Mexico is fully committed to actively advocating for and supporting marriage equality and domestic partnerships for all of New Mexico's citizens, and while we share in California's joy on this day, we remember the struggle for equality in New Mexico is far from over.

"Marriage equality and domestic partnerships for all is a basic civil right, recognized by our Party's Platform. There can be no room in New Mexico for discrimination at any level and we will continue to lead the fight on behalf of New Mexico's GLBT community and its allies until the day our Platform is realized."

(Updated) BREAKING: PROP. 8 Banning Same-Sex Marriage RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Update: I'm waiting for a public congratulatory statement from any and all Democratic candidates and officeholders here in New Mexico. GOP Gov. Schwarzenegger said, in part, "this decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves." Can we ask less from those who represent or seek to represent us?
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From Prop. 8 Trial Tracker! Click for complete ruling. One step closer to marriage equality for same-sex couples! Hey, Mary Ellen, will you marry me?

Ruling says Prop. 8 violates due process and equal protection clauses.

Amazing statement from Schwarzenegger...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker issued a ruling invalidating Proposition 8:

“Judge Walker had the great responsibility of deciding whether Proposition 8 violates the Constitution of the United States. He heard in-depth arguments from both sides on fundamental questions of due process, equal protection and freedom from discrimination. There are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and I am glad that all viewpoints were respected throughout the proceedings. We should also recognize that there will continue to be different points of view in the wake of this decision.

“For the hundreds of thousands of Californians in gay and lesbian households who are managing their day-to-day lives, this decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for all Californians to consider our history of leading the way to the future, and our growing reputation of treating all people and their relationships with equal respect and dignity.

“Today's decision is by no means California's first milestone, nor our last, on America's road to equality and freedom for all people.”

7/12-7/17: National LULAC Convention in Albuquerque Features Many Free Events

The 81st annual 2010 LULAC Convention is being held this year at the Albuquerque Convention Center from today through next Saturday, July 17th. Up to 20,000 people are expected to attend the confab. This year's theme is "New Strategies for Community Empowerment: New Leadership through Action." LULAC's national delegates will discuss issues, set policies and elect the organizational leaders. All activities are open to the public. The events with a meal require the purchase of tickets, but all of the workshops are free. Click to see an agenda summary or the program, which includes a complete schedule of events and other important information about LULAC and the convention (pdf).

"Over a decade has passed since LULAC was in Albuquerque and we return because this is a critical time in our nation's history. Right now, next door in Arizona with SB1070, we are facing potentially unconstitutional laws that encourage racial profiling and discrimination," said LULAC National President Rosa Rosales in a statement released by the organization. "We are having high level Cabinet Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries and national leaders coming to speak to us on this issue along with other key concerns such as diversity, health care and education."

Confirmed speakers and workshop leaders include Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar; Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis; U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios; Office of Personnel Management Director Jon Berry; Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, John Trasvina; Assistant Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education, Thelma Melendez, PhD; Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Tom Perez; NAACP President, Ben Jealous; Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA; Ed Avalos; Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA, Peter Silva; Undersecretary Marketing and Regulatory Programs, DOA, Ed Avalos;, Texas Congressman Silvestre Reyes; and Rep. Joe Baca of California.

Speakers from New Mexico will include Senator Jeff Bingaman;Congressmen Ben Ray Lujan and Rep. Martin Heinrich; Governor Bill Richardson; Lt. Governor Diane Denish; and Hector Balderas, State Auditor.

Workshops: There are a multitude of excellent workshops, but here are a couple that interest me:

LGBT Issues: A session on "Equality: LGBT, Latino LGBT and Allied Communities Advancing Civil Rights" will take place on Wednesday, July 14th, from 2:30 PM to 3:50 PM in the Mesilla room at the Albuquerque Convention Center located at 401 Second Street, NW. RSVP for the workshop here.

Description: Our great civil rights leaders César Chávez and Dolores Huerta built diverse coalitions with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) brothers and sisters while fighting for workers’ rights and social justice. In a similar manner, the LULAC National Assembly’s resolutions urging Congress to repeal the discriminatory Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy (2008) and to pass the Employee Non Discrimination Act (2009) demonstrate a similar spirit of cooperation. This panel will feature prominent LGBT and LGBT Latino leaders who will discuss how our communities can work together on issues of common concern as we demand equality and full civil rights for all. The panelists will discuss the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t” (DADT) military policy, the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), civil marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, and the inclusion of LGBT immigrant rights in our nation’s Immigration Reform.

Moderator: Lisbeth Melendez, Acting Director, Unidas, The National Latina LGBT Human Rights Organization

Panelists:

• Jeremy Pittman, Deputy Field Director, Human Rights Campaign
• Ben Gomez, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
• Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry
• Connie Utada, Policy Counsel, Immigration Equality
• Jesse Garcia, District Deputy Director, LULAC District III, Dallas, TX, President LULAC Rainbow Council 4871

Immigration Reform: On Friday, July 16, there will be two workshops dealing with immigration reform. A town hall on "Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Is It Coming?" will take place from 9:00 AM to 10:20 PM in the San Miguel room and will feature Felicia Escobar, President Obama's senior adviser for immigration policy at the Domestic Policy Council; Marshall Fitz, immigration policy director for the Center for American Progress; and Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

Description: Immigration policy is currently one of the most contentious issues in the nation. This discussion will focus on the complexities of immigration reform, the challenges that the Latino community faces, and the likelihood of a new comprehensive immigration reform bill becoming law. Expert panelists will also offer insight on reframing the immigration debate, as well as discuss methods of how people can support this reframing. This briefing is intended to allow key immigration reform leaders to share their ideas on how to best achieve a fair and just immigration plan for America.

A workshop from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM on "Unite Arizona: The Campaign Against SB1070" in the San Miguel room will feature Mari Alvarado, LULAC Phoenix district director; Arizona state Rep. Ben Miranda; Arizona state Sen. Richard Miranda; and Peter Schey, executive director for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Description: LULAC is firmly opposed to SB1070, an unconstitutional law which makes for the widespread profiling of Latinos in Arizona. In this workshop, human rights experts and Arizona legislators will discuss the effects SB1070 will have in the Latino community. Learn about the campaign to Unite Arizona in opposition to racial profiling and the boycott on SB1070.

Click to RSVP for either or both sessions.

LULAC will also host a three-day job fair, which starts Wednesday. Both private-sector and public-sector employers are coming to the conference to talk about opportunities within their agencies or companies.

On Saturday from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM, LULAC will host a free concert extravaganza at Tingley Coliseum, "Voces Unidas por America," with Ozomatli, Cristian Castro, Pee Wee and more. You can pick up your free ticket starting Wednesday, July 14, at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

LULAC: The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

Historic Ruling Strikes Down Federal Marriage Discrimination

This is big. Yes, it will certainly be appealed, and who knows how the "moderate" First Circuit Appeals Court will rule in the next phase of the challenge. However, this is the first time a federal court has agreed that denying the marriages of same-sex couples the same federal rights and benefits available to opposite-sex married couples is wrong, damaging to the couples and unconstitutional. The dual opinions issued today in two related cases in Massachusetts federal court are historic, ground-breaking and satisfying as hell to anyone who believes in equal rights under civil law for everyone. From Politics Daily:

Declaring that no "fairly conceivable set of facts" could justify its discriminatory provisions, a noted federal judge in Massachusetts Thursday ruled unconstitutional Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, the Clinton-era federal statute which defined marriage to include "only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife."

The decision, sure to be appealed, could ultimately give thousands of same-sex married couples across the country the right to federal retirement and death benefits -- such as the Widower's Insurance Benefit or the Lump Sum Death Benefit or favorable IRS status -- currently now only available to married heterosexual couples. The case was brought by plaintiffs who had been deprived some of these benefits under federal law because they were same-sex couples -- even though their same-sex marriages were legal in their home state of Massachusetts.

I just love it that Judge Joseph Tauro, who made the ruling, was appointed by none other than Richard Nixon. His opinion is peppered with powerful statements like this one:

"This court is soundly convinced," Judge Tauro wrote, "that the government's proffered rationales . . . are without 'footing in the realities of the subject addressed by [DOMA].' And 'when the proffered rationales for a law are clearly and manifestly implausible, a reviewing court may infer that animus is the only explicable basis. [Because] animus alone cannot constitute a legitimate government interest,' this court finds that DOMA lacks a rational basis to support it."

A diary on Daily Kos by Adam B. lays out more of Judge Tauro's arguments. I strongly urge you to read them. In essence, they mock the reasons given for enacting DOMA, as well as the arguments used by President Obama's Justice Department to defend DOMA. The judge also argues that the federal government has no right to deny recognition of a duly constituted marriage as defined in any state, and uses the history of interracial marriage as a case in point:

By way of one pointed example, so-called miscegenation statutes began to fall, state by state, beginning in 1948. But no fewer than sixteen states maintained such laws as of 1967 when the Supreme Court finally declared that prohibitions on interracial marriage violated the core constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. Nevertheless, throughout the evolution of the stateside debate over interracial marriage, the federal government saw fit to rely on state marital status determinations when they were relevant to federal law [emphasis mine].

Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, the leading campaign to win marriage equality nationwide, released the following statement on today's historic ruling:

"Today's historic ruling strikes down federal marriage discrimination enacted under the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" in 1996. DOMA created two classes of marriage -- those the federal government respects and some it doesn't -- denying married same-sex couples and their families equal treatment and depriving them of the crucial safety net that marriage brings. In Gill et al. v. Office of Personnel Management, eight married same-sex couples and three widowers, represented by the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, demonstrated that federal marriage discrimination harms gay and lesbian couples who are trying to make ends meet and protect their families.

"Today's ruling affirms what we have long known: federal discrimination enacted under DOMA is unconstitutional. The decision will be appealed and litigation will continue. But what we witnessed in the courtroom cannot be erased: federal marriage discrimination harms committed same-sex couples and their families for no good reason. Today's ruling provides increased momentum to the national movement to end exclusion from marriage and Freedom to Marry's Roadmap to secure the freedom to marry nationwide. The crucial work of changing hearts and minds and winning the freedom to marry in more states is more urgent than ever as we build on today's momentum and encourage other decision-makers to do the right thing and end exclusion from marriage."

Can I hear you say yeah?

Guest Blog: Texas Republicans and Oral Sex - What Is The Deal?

This is a guest blog by Stuart Heady, a freelance writer and political activist who was active in Austin, TX for many years before moving to Washington State, where he helped found a DFA Chapter in Snohomish County, north of Seattle. He recently moved to Albuquerque.

Why in the heck is the Texas Republican Party going XTreme by adopting a platform that would outlaw oral sex -- as well as gay marriage, and crack down more severely than Arizona on illegal immigrants?

They want to deport children not born to naturalized citizens, end bilingual education except in a first few years, and they call for an end to Pre-Kindergarten education (Head Start.) It goes on. Here is a link.

Having grown up in Waco, in the Heart of Texas (H.O.T.) I can venture some explanation (beyond standing around in the sun too long without a hat).

This is pretty worrisome, because some aspects of this may drift over this way, through evangelical influence. On the other hand, it is a grand spectacle that may just give way to a future that is likely to be Democratic, ironically.

How Did We Get Here?
First, some political background. Karl Rove, Ralph Reed and others made their mark by forging a marriage of convenience to benefit Republicans. Houston Ship Channel interests, big oil and petrochemical (fertilizers, plastics, etc.) multinationals were annoyed by the rise of environmental protection and the early interest in non-chemically produced farm products that Jim Hightower became prominent promoting. The first time their money was cultivated for political power was actually back when Lyndon Johnson raised money by talking people like Clint Murchison into helping re-elect Franklin Roosevelt.

This history arises out of a deeper psychology. In a lot of towns, there is a ruling elite that from generation to generation are the same few families. They usually own a bank or two, and buy up a lot of property during recessions.

They have traditionally kept unions at bay, and have used the legislature to install the concept of "The Right to Work" as enforceable law. Churches have been at the service of the wealthy pretty much since the beginning. So, Right to Work has also been preached from pulpits in various forms that suggest that Heavenly reward for those who play by the rules is sweet indeed. Unionism is vaguely socialist.

This might sound twisted, but actually it is a brand of Calvinism that came in with pioneers from England and Scotland back in the early 19th Century. A lot of these people were farmers and making a go of ranching or cotton farming really took very hard work. So it was a hard work religion. If everyone works extremely hard and stays on it, they might prosper. There is no slack. When oil entered the picture, you had very poor dry dirt farmers becoming wealthy overnight. What explained this? God conferring power upon the righteous, who needed to do the Lord's work with this money.

Bush era politics arose back when I was in college, back in the early '70s. At that time Karl Rove was the Washington D.C. director of campus Republicans. Back then, Democrats were the only game in town, if you wanted to get elected.

To break in, they worked through campus Crusade for Christ groups and Bible study programs. This worked at the time because the progressive reforms of the sixties made them all afraid the End Times were coming. They felt that they had to do something to prevent America from becoming lost.

At the core of this, as I heard it at the time, was a sort of sophomore level logic. The public, seduced by the siren song of Hollywood and Liberalism, was not going to vote for people like them saying what they really thought. But, for the truly righteous, the ends justify the means. So, righteous people, standing for office, could say what the public wanted to hear and when in power, begin to work changes that would bring American back to the right path.

By the end of the 1970s, the true believers had found a partner in corporate interests, which were largely amoral and didn't have an investment in the religious goals, but which saw that the anti-environmental message could be a common interest. They were certainly in favor of the Right to Work orientation. Money + volunteer labor = win. As in most marriages, it was simple at the outset.

Next Up
Now, with the Gulf Oil spill and all, the thing they have left to rile up the evangelicals is -- you guessed it. Oral Sex. And Creationism.

This whole power thing is driving the controversy over the Texas State Board of Education. The reason that the 15-member board has a majority of members who want to re-write educational curricula for Texas schools and school texts, is that evangelicals are tired of losing arguments over the fundamental facts of history. Therefore, rewrite history to say that the Founding Fathers in fact did not intend for there to be a wall of separation between Church and State. They meant to establish a specifically Christian nation, and ipso facto, only the evangelical interpretation of what Jesus preached is the correct one.

Now, demographically, one of the drivers in Texas politics is the prospect that Hispanic voters will arrive at a majority or near-majority in the next ten to twenty years. At that point, the politics will begin to be more complicated. You will know that this point has been reached when an Hispanic candidate for governor actually wins.

This may not immediately make Texas a progressive, blue state, but it will put the more hardcore evangelicals out of the reach of having real power.

That prospect is why evangelicals are getting more X Treme in demanding control of the Republican Party agenda.

The danger this poses is that, in a time when the problems of our time are harder to resolve, get more complex and when they proliferate (possibly about the time that gas goes back over $4.00 a gallon) suburban voters may decide that the more extreme right wing has a clear handle on the problems.

That likelihood makes it all the more important that those who have a realistic sense of what is going on have their act together. It could get crazier.

This is a guest blog by Stuart Heady. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the page. To see previous guest blogs, visit our archive.

Stephen Jones: 41 Years After Stonewall

This is a post by contributing writer, Stephen Jones, who is a progressive political activist and a resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

This is going to be another one of those cranky history lessons I always seem to be giving here. Please bear with me.

June is LGBT History Month. The fourth Sunday in June, seven days from today, commemorates the Stonewall Riot in New York. On Saturday night, early Sunday morning on that day in 1969 lesbians and gay men for the first time stood up and fought back against a brutal police attack outside the Stonewall Lounge, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village.

Thinking about this event I am reminded how far our nation has come in four decades. In fact, we even had an annual pride celebration at Women’s Pioneer Park in Las Cruces, and Saturday’s event is not southern New Mexico’s first. I can’t imagine anyone in our state would have believed such an event could ever take place on this end of New Mexico four decades ago, or on the northern end, for that matter.

Still, we have a long road to go. One recent item that comes to my mind today, as we enter Pride Week in earnest, is a short heart-felt video request from a dear friend associated with this blog. In it, Mary Ellen Broderick asks our legislature to rise above the bigotry that remains around us and grant her and her partner Barbara an opportunity to make their twenty year relationship together a legal marriage.

I repeat Mary Ellen’s request of the legislature today, and plead for action. Since I have adopted New Mexico as my home, Mary Ellen and Barbara have become two of the most important allies and friends in my life. They, and other LGBT people, who wish earnestly to marry deserve the equal protection and blessings of our marriage laws.

A Long Battle for Equal Protection
The fight to gain the equal protection of the laws reaches back long before Stonewall, of course, back to the origins of the Republic. The foundation of equal protection is the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. On the framework of the 14th Amendment the whole body of civil and human rights law in the United States rests, including in the states, like our New Mexico.

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

This is somewhat dry and legalese constitutional language, but as we all know, all laws have a back story; maybe the law originated when a stray horse wandered off into the wrong pasture in the case of a local ordinance, or when land and water rights were challenged in the case of some state statute somewhere else, including here. The 14th Amendment, too, has its own back story. Crafted by a joint committee of 15 members of the House and Senate in the months after the end of the Civil War, its chief sponsor in the House of Representatives was Thaddeus Stevens, Chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and leader of the majority in Congress.

Thaddeus Stevens, Champion of Equality
Stevens is not so well known to most Americans today, but as chief architect of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, he probably should be. Born into poverty in rural Vermont, his mother was abandoned by her husband when Stevens was still a child. Perpetually sick and afflicted with a club foot, the young Stevens was shaped by his own pain and isolation. A successful student at Dartmouth, Stevens eventually relocated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he became a prosperous small business owner and lawyer.

He entered local politics and was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, where, among other things, he beat back a conservative attempt to withdraw funding for public schools. Another key event in Stevens' life was an ill-conceived decision to act as attorney on behalf of a Maryland slaveholder who sued to have his “property,” an escaped woman, returned. While Stevens won the case he was haunted at having played a central role in returning a human being to slavery. Angry at having put the letter of the law above his personal principals, he took up the anti-slavery cause.

A successful commerce attorney, Thaddeus Stevens took every human rights case that came his way, pro bono. He went to court on behalf of African Americans, immigrants, women, the disabled, religious minorities including Jews and Muslims, workers and small trades-people who couldn’t afford a lawyer. He detested the concept of smug privilege.

Outside of the courtroom, Stevens was a parliamentary genius. Stevens was a powerful and successful Congressman, but he always fought to act with the wind of history and justice at his back, even if his legislation wasn't universally popular. In Congress Thaddeus Stevens took up a vigorous legislative campaign against slavery, and as the Civil War unfolded, against the South itself. Southern troops were caught in the pivotal battle of Gettysburg because they were moving too slowly through Pennsylvania trying to destroy Thaddeus Stevens' many small business ventures along the way.

Stevens criticized President Lincoln for being too cautious on the issue of the cause of the war, slavery, in the opening phases of the Civil War, and while the two men were political allies, Lincoln and Stevens made no secret of their personal dislike of each other. If Lincoln was too centrist for the Pennsylvania Congressman, Stevens also took issue with the purists to the left of him for their lack of legislative realism and pragmatism. Stevens famously would say, “Give me a half a loaf today. I’ll work on the other half tomorrow.”

Notoriously ruthless and caustic with his enemies, he also possessed famously strange sense of humor. A woman admirer once asked for a lock of his hair as a souvenir. Stevens, who was completely bald as the result of a childhood disease, covered the infirmity with a wig. In response to the woman’s request for a lock of his hair, Steven’s said, “Here! Take the whole thing!” He snatched off his wig and handed it to the woman.

Ratification of the 14th Amendment
The high point of Stevens career was the passage of the 14th Amendment that guaranteed the equal protection of the laws to all. He steered the Amendment in its present form through the thorny and difficult legislative process.

On March 18, 1868, upon its ratification, Stevens rose in the well of the House of Representatives and delivered a fiery victory speech, connecting the new Amendment to the founding creed of the Declaration of Independence, and calling on legislatures to enforce the human rights of all Americans. “I know that when our fathers came to frame the Constitution, slavery having increased, they were obliged to postpone some of those universal principles, and allow individuals and municipalities to violate them for a while. I thank God that necessity no longer exists. The law‑givers of America are now free to act."

The Continuing Fight to Change Hearts and Minds
Constitutional Amendments alone don’t change hearts and minds. As violence against African Americans in the south escalated, and nativist laws in the north closed doors to immigrants, America’s northern leaders turned their back on them, too weary to care about universal rights anymore. Distressed at the growing disregard for equal rights Stevens complained bitterly, “My whole life has come to nothing. I have been a failure.”

As he lay dying he dictated a will that left his accumulated wealth for the creation of a trade school. His will stipulated that enrollment be open to all, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, or sex. The common eating areas and dormitory spaces were to be shared by all without segregation. That trade school continues today in Lancaster as the Thaddeus Stevens Technical College. One of its graduates is Amy Carter, daughter of President Jimmy Carter.

As a final act, Stevens purchased a burial plot in the Presbyterian Cemetery of Lancaster, the place where all of the city’s most notable leading citizens were buried. Discovering a rider on the deed that restricted resale of the plot to blacks or Jews, Thaddeus Stevens demanded his money back.

Instead of the Presbyterian Cemetery, he chose to be buried in Lancaster’s tiny African-American Cemetery, and he was laid to rest there int a tiny half-acre burial ground by an honor guard of African-American Civil War Veterans, followed by Senators, Congressmen and Supreme Court Justices.

Thaddeus Stevens dictated the language of his own grave stone in the days before he died. It reads, “I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, not from any natural preference for solitude, but finding other cemeteries limited as to race, by charter rules, I have chosen this that I might illustrate in my death the principles which I advocated through a long life, equality of man before his Creator.”

Real Family Values
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Section 5 of the 14th Amendment reads, “The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

These aren’t mere words on paper. These are principles to fight for, a heritage to fight for, and a future to secure. These are our values, American family values. We still have a long journey to go.

The 14th Amendment means what it says. The law‑givers of our state are free to act. History demands that the legislature act accordingly and do the right thing. I ask the next session of the New Mexico State Legislature to do so, and act affirmatively on marriage equality. We all deserve a place at the family table.

To read more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

Vote NOW for Michael Huerta's Video: New Mexico Young Person Selected in National Competition

The Huffington Post and the Center for American Progress announced this week that Michael Ray Huerta of Las Cruces, NM, was selected to take part in a national speech competition. Many of you have gotten to know Michael from his work in politics, and I hope you'll support him in this contest by voting for his video speech.

The competition, titled "Campus Progress National Keynote," had an open call for entries from across the country. Judges from the Huffington Post and the Center for American Progress selected six entries from among the several hundred that were submitted. Huerta's was one of the six selected entries.

The top three winners will receive free travel and accommodations to DC on July 7th & 8th to address the 2010 Campus Progress National Conference from a stage previously graced by Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, The Daily Show’s John Oliver, John Lewis, Van Jones, Samantha Power, Ryan Gosling and many others. The footage of the speech will also stream live on the Huffington Post.

Voting ends TONIGHT at Midnight (Thursday, June 17). Click here, go to Michael's video, click on 10 and vote. Just do it. And do it again when you can.

"I'm honored that these two powerhouse organizations in politics and journalism awarded me with this opportunity," said Huerta in a statement released about the competition. "As the only New Mexican to be competing, I humbly ask for your support -- regardless of your political affiliation. It's time that others across this country see that New Mexico's young people are smart, talented, and have much to offer our fellow citizens. Please take a few minutes to check out the video, vote often, and share this amazing opportunity with your communities."

Michael Ray Huerta studied International Affairs at The George Washington University. In 2008, he was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. After working for Hillary Clinton and later as the press secretary for Congressman Harry Teague, Michael served in the Americorp program. Michael currently serves on the State Central Committee of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, on the board of various organizations, and as a spokesperson for Cindy Lauper's "We Give a Damn Campaign."

Winning the Freedom to Marry: We Need Your Help

Visit Freedom to Marry

If you support our quest for equal rights under civil law for all LGBT Americans, including full marriage rights, please take the pledge.

Learn more here about why marriage matters. Use this tool to urge our members of Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Support the cause by making a donation to Freedom to Marry, which is the leading campaign working to win marriage nationwide. The organization partners with a diverse range of organizations and supporters across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from the responsibilities, protections, and commitment of marriage.

Also, be sure to check out my partner Mary Ellen's video and guest blog on Gay Pride 2010 and why full marriage rights are so important to her, personally.

Guest Blog/Video: Gay Pride 2010 -- 30 Years of Marching and Still Not There

This is a guest blog and video statement by Mary Ellen Broderick, who does most of the photography and videos for the DFNM blog (not to mention much of the legwork). She's also my partner of 21 years and counting, and we've both grown and changed a great deal during those years -- as a couple, as individuals, in our work and in our political engagement. Today, she talks about her journey through 30 years of gay pride celebrations and what's important this gay pride.

I woke up this morning and decided to record a short video -- a message about what gay pride means to me now, at this age in my life. In a way, I have not been more disillusioned. Maybe it is because the people who have my destiny in their hands are now people that I may consider friends, and they are mostly silent. 30 years of Pride.

I remember the old sayings in the 80’s, like "Silence = Death" (for the silence around AIDS at the time). I remember walking in the streets of Boston following the pride march route the first year or two, being on the sidelines so as not to be seen. Then, getting bold enough to actually walk in the march and risk being seen and labeled. It was daring back then. We would chant: "We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it," and "Out of the closets and into the streets." It was about the whole community coming out and banding together, and risking together.

The activism of the past 30 years has resulted in the LGBT community being more accepted in the USA. Some real interesting statistics are being shared this week showing just how much more accepted we are now -- especially among men and Catholics. This has taken my lifetime. I am proud to say I have been a part of this evolving view of us and me. Just showing up for my life each day, trying to be a good citizen, a trustworthy human and a hard worker, just like any other Sally or Joe. The only difference is I am gay.

I have preferred to spend my life with a woman partner rather than a male. Seems simple enough, but how far from simple it is when you're living it. Is it a choice? I don’t think so. If it was a choice, I think I would have taken the easier, softer way and partnered with a man. It just is what it is -- as if I was born left handed. In fact, that used to be scorned as well. But people changed and saw being left handed as a nothing. No real difference between a right-handed human and a left-handed human. I dream of the day when being gay is interpreted just like that; oh, you are a lefty.

A recent editorial in the New York Times states that domestic partnerships are woefully inadequate substitutes for marriage.

This Newsweek article by the highly respected conservative legal mind, Ted Olson, is great to read to understand why he is fighting for our rights: The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage; Why same-sex marriage is an American value.

On an open conference call last night regarding the current Prop 8 case, it was reported Ted Olson said the following: “Ted Olson repeatedly made the point that when a minority’s civil rights are voted upon they often lose, and that is exactly why we have the court system as a check on those votes.” And, “Olson also was emphatic about the importance of talking about the trial. The more conversations people have, the better for the courts and the movement.”

The closing arguments of the Prop 8 California case are going to be this week. I have read through much of the case transcript and live blog. You can do so here. There are 12 days of testimony. Reading about this case was an eye opener for me as to what my life has been -- helping me to see the subtle and sometimes blatant hurts I have had to withstand as a gay human being. It might help you understand what lgbt folks go through. I also urge you to follow the historic closing arguments of the civil rights case, which you will find here, starting next Wednesday.

So, today, on this mid-June Gay Pride weekend -- I am proud. I still have obstacles that I can struggle with, like friending relatives on Facebook who don’t know me much. Or doing a job change and asking about the possibility of domestic partnership coverage. But, for the most part, I am out of the closet and into the street.

I have been with my girlfriend for 21 years. Through thick and thin. You may not call it a marriage, but it is: in sickness and in health till death do us part, just like what you all say. It is what it is, and we are fortunate to have each other. Many people don’t have what Barb and I have been able to find and nourish. I'm here, I'm queer, and I'm a bit worn out and frayed at the edges, but I have lots of pride. Lots of gay pride. I hope you'll help us get to the next step -- full equality under the law and full citizenship.

NH Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to Speak on Equality in Santa Fe, Albuquerque

From Equality New Mexico:
Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, will visit Albuquerque and Santa Fe from Thursday, June 24 until Sunday, June 27. Bishop Robinson will speak Thursday night at St. Francis Auditorium in Santa Fe. Tickets are $15 and available at www.santafehra.org. He will also serve as Honorary Grand Marshall of the Santa Fe Gay Pride Parade on Saturday.

Saturday night at 7:00 PM he will speak at Simms Auditorium at the Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque. The title of his lecture is "Where are we going and what do we need to do to get there?" Tickets, $20 available HERE or at www.eqnm.org. All profits will benefit the EQNM Educational Foundation.

Bishop Robinson, who was the first openly gay, partnered priest to be ordained a bishop in a major Christian denomination, is a tireless leader in the movement for fairness and equality within the church. He will preach at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 601 Montaño Road, NW, in Albuquerque, on Sunday, June 27, during the 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM and 11:15 AM services.