By Lori Adelman • @ladelman • 12 years ago

Suquamish Tribe approves same-sex marriage

Interesting and awesome news coming out of the Kitsap Peninsula this week.

On Monday, the Suquamish Tribal Council formally changed its ordinances to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Starting this week, gay couples will have the same rights as heterosexual couples on the reservation (where the Suquamish have tribal sovereignty), and in other places in which gay marriages are allowed by law.

According to the Kitsap Sun, the new law allows the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, “regardless of their sex,” if they at least 18 years old and at least one of them is an enrolled member of the Suquamish Tribe.

They are thought to be the latest to join a short list of tribes to adopt such a policy. The Sun also reports that in 2009 the Coquille Indian Tribe in Coos Bay, Ore., became what many believed to be the first Indian tribe to marry a gay couple, two women from Edmonds, Wash.

Six states and Washington, D.C. currently issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, with New York the most recent to join this list.

Via Jessica Yee

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman started blogging with Feministing in 2008, and now runs partnerships and strategy as a co-Executive Director. She is also the Director of Youth Engagement at Women Deliver, where she promotes meaningful youth engagement in international development efforts, including through running the award-winning Women Deliver Young Leaders Program. Lori was formerly the Director of Global Communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and has also worked at the United Nations Foundation on the Secretary-General's flagship Every Woman Every Child initiative, and at the International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch. As a leading voice on women’s rights issues, Lori frequently consults, speaks and publishes on feminism, activism and movement-building. A graduate of Harvard University, Lori has been named to The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans in the United States, and to Forbes Magazine‘s list of the “30 Under 30” successful mediamakers. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

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