SAGE Blog

Inside the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Hearings

This is a post by Aaron Tax, SAGE’s Director of Federal Government Relations. He attended the Prop 8 and DOMA hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and tweeted live from the steps of the Supreme Court. Visits twitter.com/sageusa to follow all the latest news.

I had the good fortune to attend the Supreme Court hearings this week on Prop 8 and DOMA. However, after standing in line in the dark and the cold on two long consecutive mornings, the last thing I wanted to hear from the Supreme Court was anything about standing (albeit standing of a different variety).  Given the long and circuitous procedural paths each of the cases took to get to the Supreme Court, that was, however, one of the common themes over two days of arguments on same-sex marriage.  The first day focused on whether individuals have a Constitutional right to get married  to someone of the same sex. The second focused on whether the federal government must recognize those marriages.  I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with Edie, the named plaintiff in the second case, Windsor v. United States.

 

Aaron Tax and Edie Windsor

 

Edie’s Day in Court

Today the Supreme Court will hear the case United States v. Windsor, the indomitable Edie Windsor’s challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Her case highlights how DOMA prevents older same-sex couples from equal access to key supports like Social Security, Medicaid, veterans benefits and retiree benefits like spousal health care coverage—which has real and lasting impacts on LGBT elder’s health and financial security. As Edie takes her fight—which has become the fight of all LGBT older people—to our nation’s highest court, SAGE is proud to stand alongside her.

5 Possible Outcomes for Today's Historic Prop 8 Case

Supreme Court clerk, Aaron Tax and others waiting for the Prop 8 case to be heard

This is a guest post by Aaron Tax, SAGE’s Director of Federal Government Relations

Today, the Supreme Court is hearing the “Prop 8 Case,” officially called Hollingsworth v. Perry.  It’s the first of two marriage cases the Court will hear this week—the other being SAGE constituent Edie Windsor challenging DOMA. As framed by scotusblog, the two issues at stake in today’s case are:

1. "Whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the State of California from defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; and
2. whether petitioners have standing under Article III, § 2 of the Constitution in this case.”

Love & Loss: Moving On from Hurricane Sandy; One Older Gay Man's Story

The following is a guest post by Damien Wade, Case Manager at The SAGE Center  

SAGE Case Manager Damien Wade Visiting with James McCormick Who Lost His Partner David in Hurricane Sandy

David B. Maxwell, 66, and James McCormick, 72, were together for 5 years and had recently moved into their own home in the Midland Beach neighborhood of Staten Island, known for its beautiful waterfront views and serenity. They had cats. They had each other. And by all accounts they had planned to spend their lives devoted to one another.

When I started working with James, I learned that he had suffered a stroke in mid-2012 that left him with limited mobility and confined to a wheelchair.  He had to move out of the home he shared with David and into the Carmel Richmond Nursing Home.

I never met David, but I imagine him to have been a nurturing and caring man. He was described by his neighbor as a “lovely sweet gentleman,” and a devoted partner whose whole life was James.  After James’ stroke, David would visit him all the time at the nursing home. David’s was the first face James saw in the morning and the last he saw at night.

Presidential Inaguration 2013: The Obama Administration and LGBT Aging Issues

 

President Obama and the First Lady with Tony Schmidt and SAGE Constituent Jerry Hoose

The following is a guest post by Aaron Tax, Director of Federal Government Relations at SAGE.

 

Today is the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. It’s a great day to celebrate the President’s accomplishments from the past four years and to look forward to what we hope will be four more years of progress for LGBT older adults.

As you know, President Obama has done a tremendous amount for all LGBT people during his first term–from signing the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, to issuing a memorandum on hospital visitation (providing for same-sex partner visitation and medical decision-making) and being the first sitting President to come out (so to speak) in support of marriage equality.  The list goes on and on.

Creating Change around LGBT Aging Issues

Next week from January 23 – 27 marks the 25^th annual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. Held at the Hilton Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, and organized by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Creating Change will welcome over 3,500 people from all walks of life and from across the country to network and strategize on new ways to move the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement forward.

 

SAGE Executive Director Michael Adams presents the SAGE Award to Kathy Greenlee, Assistant Secretary for Aging at Creating Change 2012

 

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) will once again host the LGBT Elder Day-Long Institute, and other trainings throughout the 5-day conference, to open dialogue and tackle issues faced by LGBT elders.

Welcome to the SAGE Blog!

When we launched the new SAGEUSA.org last fall, we set out to build an improved online space for anyone seeking information on LGBT aging and the services and programs for LGBT elders offered by SAGE. We included an Issues Section to give concise, detailed facts about the many challenges that LGBT elders face.  We made SAGE’s groundbreaking policy reports, videos, and podcasts more readily available with an expanded multimedia library. And we made the site more accessible with a larger default font, text enlarger and a Reading Help page, among many other improvements and updates. 

Now, SAGE is thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our website—the SAGE Blog!