Happy Thanksgiving!

We want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for visiting our blog.

We're thankful for the opportunity to make so many clients happy beyond their imagination.

We're glad to have made a difference in so many lives.

There's our gratitude for all the tremendous achievements in the battle for full marriage equality, though we recognize the agony of our brothers and sisters in California who may not feel much like giving thanks right now.

We will continute to support and advocate for marriage equality throughout this nation.

We're grateful for the humanity in Connecticut's new marriage equality status. Also for the recognition of legally performed same-sex marriages, elsewhere, by New York State. We are thankful, too, for NY's demand for insurance coverage for our families!

Maybe, in spite of it all, today is a great day to take a few moments to recognize our blessings.

As Anne Frank said... "Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."

Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, 1952German Jewish diarist (1929 - 1945)

Even though there is much work left to do, take today to enjoy those around you!

Happy Thanksgiving Family!

- From all of us at savvyplanners.com

NYS insurers ordered to recognize same-sex marriages

By 365gay Newscenter Staff

(New York City) The New York State overseerer of insurance companies has told companies they must treat legally married same-sex couples the same as they treat opposite-sex married pairs.

Although state law does not permit gay marriage within New York State, a Rochester court ruled that valid out-of-state marriages of lesbian and gay couples must be recognized. The state’s highest court upheld the ruling.

In addition, Gov. David Paterson in June issued a directive instructing state agencies governing insurance and health care - to immediately change policies and regulations to recognize gay marriages performed in areas where they are legal.

Nevertheless, some private insurers have declined to recognize same-sex marriages.

In his directive to insurance companies operating in the state, Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said legally married same-sex couples cannot be treated differently than other married couples...

From our friends at Garden State Equality

From our friends at Garden State Equality:

"Today, Thursday, November 20, 2008 is the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance across the world.

Today we remember our transgender sisters and brothers murdered because of their gender identity or expression. New Jersey is fortunate to have a statewide law that bans discrimination based on gender identity or expression, enacted in 2006; and a hate crimes law that mandates tougher penalties for crimes based gender identity or expression, enacted in 2008.

But there are no corresponding laws in most other U.S. states or at the Federal level, and none in most countries across the world. The absence of such laws is one of the biggest tragedies of our time.

Tonight at 7:30 pm in Princeton, at the Princeton University Chapel, is New Jersey’s annual and deeply moving Transgender Day of Remembrance service, open to all and no RSVP needed.

If you can’t make it tonight, please take a moment to remember these fallen heroes. They are members of the transgender community murdered since last year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance – murdered because of their gender identity or expression. May we achieve a more inclusive, less hateful world to honor the memory of their lives.

Kellie Telesford

Location: Thornton Heath, United Kingdom

Cause of Murder: Strangled after the murderer discovered Kellie was transgender

Date of Murder: November 21, 2007

Brian McGlothin

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Cause of Murder: Shot in the head with an automatic rifle

Date of Murder: December 23, 2007

Gabriela Alejandra Albornoz

Location: Santiago, Chile

Cause of Murder: Attacked and stabbed

Date of Murder: December 28, 2007

Patrick Murphy

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Cause of Murder: Shot Several times in the head

Date of Murder: January 8, 2008

Stacy Brown

Location: Baltimore, Maryland

Cause of Murder: Shot in the head

Date of Murder: January 8, 2008

Adolphus Simmons

Location: Charleston, South Carolina

Cause of Murder: Shot to death

Date of Murder: January 21, 2008

Fedra

Location: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Cause of Murder: Lying face up in a pool of blood
Date of Murder: January 22, 2008

Ashley Sweeney

Location: Detroit, Michigan

Cause of Murder: Shot in the head

Date of Murder: February 4, 2008

Sanesha Stewart

Location: Bronx, New York

Cause of Murder: Stabbed to death

Date of Murder: February 10, 2008

Lawrence King

Location: Oxnard, California

Cause of Murder: Shot to death
Date of Murder: February 12, 2008

Simmie Williams Jr.

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Cause of Murder: Shot to death, Simmie was found wearing women’s clothing

Date of Murder: February 22, 2008

Luna

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Cause of Murder: Brutally beaten to death and tossed into a dumpster

Date of Murder: March 15, 2008

Lloyd Nixon

Location: West Palm Beach, Florida

Cause of Murder: Repeatedly beat in the head with a brick

Date of Murder: April 16, 2008

Felicia Melton-Smyth

Location: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Cause of Murder: Stabbed to death

Date of Murder: May 26, 2008

Silvana Berisha

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Cause of Murder: Stabbed to death

Date of Murder: June 24, 2008

Ebony Whitaker

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Cause of Murder: Shot to death

Date of Murder: July 1, 2008

Rosa Pazos

Location: Sevilla, Spain

Cause of Murder: Stabbed in the throat

Date of Murder: July 11, 2008

Juan Carlos Aucalle Coronel

Location: Lombardi, Italy

Cause of Murder: Severely beaten and run over by a car

Date of Murder: July 14, 2008

Angie ZapataLocation: Greeley, Colorado

Cause of Murder: Two severe fractures in her skull

Date of Murder: July 17, 2008

J

aylynn L. Namauu

Location: Makiki Honolulu, Hawaii

Cause of Murder: Stabbed to death

Date of Murder: July 17, 2008

Samantha Rangel Brandau

Location: Milan, Italy

Cause of Murder: Beaten, gang raped and stabbed numerous times
Date of Murder: July 29, 2008

Nakhia Williams

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Cause of Murder: Shot near the dumpster next to her home

Date of Murder: August 20, 2008

Ruby Molina

Location: Sacramento, California
Cause of Murder: Drowned, her body was found floating

Date of Murder: September 21, 2008

Aimee Wilcoxson

Location: Aurora, Colorado

Cause of Murder: Found dead in her bed
Date of Murder: November 3, 2008

Duanna Johnson

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

Cause of Murder: Shot dead in the middle of the street

Date of Murder: November 9, 2008

Dilek Ince

Location: Ankara, Turkey

Cause of Murder: Shot in the back of the head

Date of Murder: November 11, 2008

Teish Cannon

Location: Syracuse, New York

Cause of Murder: Shot dead

Date of Murder: November 14, 2008

Ali

Location: Iraq

Cause of Murder: Executed for being transgender

Date of Murder: 2008, month unknown"

Editor's Note:

We offer our condolences to all the victims and their families.

Today is The Transgender Day of Remembrance

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.

Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgendered — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgendered people.

We at savvyplanners.com stand with our trans men and women who are living life as it was meant to be for each of them.

Life is far too short to live oppressed, hidden or ashamed. Congratulations on living your truth!

California Supreme Court Grants Review in Prop 8 Legal Challenges

Court to Determine Constitutionality of Prop 8
Via:









Today the California Supreme Court granted review in the legal challenges to Proposition 8, which passed by a narrow margin of 52 percent on November 4. In an order issued today, the Court agreed to hear the case and set an expedited briefing schedule. The Court also denied an immediate stay.

On November 5, 2008, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of Proposition 8 in the California Supreme Court on behalf of six couples and Equality California. The City of San Francisco , joined by the City of Los Angeles , the County of Los Angeles , and Santa Clara County , filed a similar challenge, as did a private attorney in Los Angeles .



The lawsuits allege that, on its face, Proposition 8 is an improper revision rather than an amendment of the California Constitution because, in its very title, which was “Eliminates the right to marry for same-sex couples,” the initiative eliminated an existing right only for a targeted minority.

If permitted to stand, Proposition 8 would be the first time an initiative has successfully been used to change the California Constitution to take way an existing right only for a particular group. Such a change would defeat the very purpose of a constitution and fundamentally alter the role of the courts in protecting minority rights.

According to the California Constitution, such a serious revision of our state Constitution cannot be enacted through a simple majority vote, but must first be approved by two-thirds of the Legislature.

Since the three lawsuits submitted on November 5, three other lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 have been filed. In a petition filed on November 14, 2008, leading African American, Latino, and Asian American groups argued that Proposition 8 threatens the equal protection rights of all Californians.

On November 17, 2008, the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations representing millions of members statewide, also filed a petition asserting that Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection for all, and was not enacted through the constitutionally required process for such a dramatic change to the California Constitution. On the same day, prominent California women’s rights organizations filed a petition asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because of its potentially disastrous implications for women and other groups that face discrimination.

In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court held that barring same-sex couples from marriage violates the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and violates the fundamental right to marry. Proposition 8 would completely eliminate the right to marry only for same-sex couples. No other initiative has ever successfully changed the California Constitution to take away a right only from a targeted minority group.

Over the past 100 years, the California Supreme Court has heard nine cases challenging either legislative enactments or initiatives as invalid revisions of the California Constitution. In three of those cases, the Court invalidated those measures.

For more information on this case>>

RELATED: via Lambda Legal

BREAKING NEWS: The California Supreme Court just announced that it will review the Prop 8 challenge brought by Lambda Legal, NCLR, ACLU and others. This is exciting news!

Gay rights rallies nationwide over Calif. ban

By JAY LINDSAY,

Associated Press Writer

via Yahoo! News


BOSTON – Gay rights supporters waving rainbow colors marched, chanted and danced in cities coast to coast Saturday to protest the California vote that banned gay marriage there and urge supporters not to quit the fight for the right to wed. Many cast it as a civil rights issue.

Joseph Mercado and Justin Niehoff embrace as they protest a gay marriage ban approved two weeks ago by Californians in Chicago's Federal Plaza Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008. The event is part of a simultaneous protest planned for cities nationwide. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) Photo Credit: AP

Crowds gathered near public buildings in small communities and major cities including New York, San Francisco and Chicago to vent their frustrations, celebrate gay relationships and renew calls for change.

"Civil marriages are a civil right, and we're going to keep fighting until we get the rights we deserve as American citizens," Karen Amico said in Philadelphia, holding up a sign reading "Don't Spread H8".

"We are the American family, we live next door to you, we teach your children, we take care of your elderly," said Heather Baker a special education teacher from Boston who addressed the crowd at Boston's City Hall Plaza. "We need equal rights across the country."

Massachusetts and Connecticut, which began same sex weddings this past week, are the only two states that allow gay marriage. All 30 states that have voted on gay marriage have enacted bans...

Proposition 8: National Day of Protest

According to the Washington Blade's BLOG, there will be a demonstraton from coast to coast on Saturday November 15, 2008.

We certainly hope that all the protesters/demonstrators will have a safe and effective effort to voice their positions and to be heard and respected.

Keith Olbermann: Gay Marriage Is a Question of Love

Gay Marriage Legal In Conn. Starting Wednesday

Nutmeg State Joins Massachusetts As Only 2 In Nation To Allow Same-Sex Partners To Wed; Couples Ecstatic

Reporting: Mary Calvi

WCBS-TV

COLCHESTER, Conn. (CBS) ― Starting Wednesday, it's official. Same-sex couples in Connecticut will be legally allowed to tie the knot. And some have been waiting decades for this reality. CBS 2 HD spoke with one couple who helped turn the law around. Janet Peck and Carol Conklin can get married Wednesday if they'd like. Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Connecticut.

"We've been dreaming of getting married for 33 years," Peck said. The couple has been in a four-year legal fight to have the law reversed. The courts agreed with them. "My parents always said when you grow up you'll find the person you'll get married to and Janet is that person for me," Conklin said...

RELATED: Getting Married in Connecticut: What You Need to Know!

CT Marriage License Information

Schwarzenegger Encourages Gay Marriage Backers

By On Top Magazine Staff

In a CNN interview Sunday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out swinging in favor of gay activists who had have taken to the streets in protest to Tuesday's passage of a gay marriage ban in the state. The governor said, “They should never give up.”

While discussing Proposition 8 – the ballot initiative that amends the state's constitution to ban gay marriage – Schwarzenegger offered a dramatic new pro-gay position. “It's unfortunate, obviously, but it's not the...

In a CNN interview Sunday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came out swinging in favor of gay activists who had have taken to the streets in protest to Tuesday's passage of a gay marriage ban in the state. The governor said, “They should never give up.”

While discussing Proposition 8 – the ballot initiative that amends the state's constitution to ban gay marriage – Schwarzenegger offered a dramatic new pro-gay position.

California Proposition 8 Passes: 21st Century Hate

photo credit: AFP/Google

Special to the Blog:
Op/Ed by MW Savant, CEO


In an article via AFP entitled Californians vote to ban gay marriage, there is certainly no room left for interpretation. Proposition 8 was voted in and upon by California voters.

What does this mean to the thousands of couples who chose to wed, LEGALLY, while they could? Well the Attorney General says they'll remain valid, but that legal challenges are possible.

It is utterly inconceivable that just over fifty percent of the residents of the state, upset about the supreme court ruling and those "activist judges", could really be so cruel as to prevent GLBT couples from marrying--- after the right was already granted. How could you??

What a heartless and myopic and cruel thing to do to fellow Americans and Californians.
Just one day after the election of a President who appears to speak to unity and fairness, Proposition 8 rears its horrible head as the exact opposite. But what have its backers really accomplished?

If they were going for appearing incapable and unwilling to live and let live: Done. To cling to the bigotries of the past under the disingenuous guise of "protecting the sanctity of marriage"... done. To fight, ruthlessly, for a raison d'Etre...OK. To blindly, and without comprehension of the damages being done to thousands of GLBT couples and families, enact and support some hatefully Draconian resolution? They did it! If they wanted to punish people that they don't particularly care for... mission accomplished. They must be so proud.

Like it or not, in case they hadn't stopped hating long enough to have observed last evening's historic mandate... times, they are a- changed. The country said "enough" to bigotry and hatred ---to fear and animosity--- and hello to inclusion and mutual respect for our fellow human beings. Without regard for "what" they happened to be.

I am horrified and disgusted by the passage of Resolution 8! I am terrified that, in this century, people continue to choose to oppress fellow citzens--- swaddled in the cloak of righteous indignation and preservation of an "institution".

While I respect anyone's right to have their opinions, I cannot idly abide unabashed bigotry. The Prop. 8 backers know as well as I (and the REST of California) that NONE of the GLBT marriages that have taken place have in any way damaged, harmed, demeaned or threatened their own marriage(s). Nor would ones in future. So what was this really all about?

I am ashamed that certain of my countrymen elected to take away another human being's rights. The 18,000 (+/-) weddings constitute the proof that loving couples need, and desire, to make their relationships "real" and in terms that absolutely no one could fail to grasp. "Married".
It is a hurtful, hateful, reprehensible thing to take away marriage that was legal, for no other reason than what appears, on its face, to be sour grapes and inhumane sport. But you won. Congratulations. How many strangers have you now harmed?

While the current marriages will remain valid, legal challenges are likely.

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade
unionists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And
then they came
for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . .
they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one
left to speak up."

-Pastor Martin Niemöller
(1892–1984)

Perhaps , someday, you'll need someone to speak up for you. There is no gray area in equality.

We'll continue to fight for marriage equality for all.


RELATED: SF city attorney prepares legal challenge to Prop 8



Editor's Note: The opinion expressed above is entirely that of MW Savant and does not, necessarily, reflect the view(s) held by savvyplanners.com™, LLC, its principals, affiliates or subsidiaries. However, in this case it DOES.

Full disclosure: savvyplanners.com donates to and supports organizations advocating for full marriage equality.