by Melissa S. Green

Bruce Botelho, Mayor of the City and Borough of Juneau, has joined (at last count) 98 other U.S. mayors from over 25 states in calling for marriage equality. The formation of Mayors for Freedom to Marry, a bipartisan group in coalition with the national organization Freedom to Marry, was announced in a press conference at the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday, January 20.

Mayors for Freedom to Marry includes mayors from  cities and towns of all sizes, from the mayors of America’s four largest cities — Michael Bloomberg of New York, Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, and Annise Parker of Houston — to those of smaller towns and cities, such as Issaquah, Washington; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Des Moines, Iowa; Bloomington, Indiana; Lewiston, Maine — and Juneau, Alaska. (A full list of members is below.)  The mayors have pledged to work for laws allowing same-sex marriage and to urge Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which disallows recognition of same-sex marriage on the federal level.

Mayor Botelho served his first term as Juneau mayor from 1988 to 1991. He was deputy attorney general of Alaska from 1992 to 1993 before serving as Alaska attorney general for 8 years (1994-2002) under Governors Walter J. Hickel and Tony Knowles, and held that position when Alaska voters passed Ballot Measure 2, making Alaska, with Hawaii, one of the first two states to constitutionally restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples. Botelho returned as mayor of Juneau in 2003, and was reelected in 2006 and again in 2009.

Congratulations, Juneau, on having an equality-loving mayor!  He’s the only Alaska mayor who has so far joined this call for the right of same-sex partners to marry.

Do you have a mayor who stands for marriage equality? Mayors wish to join Mayors for Freedom to Marry can download and sign the Mayor for Freedom to Marry statement, which reads:

As mayors of great American cities, we proudly stand together in support of the freedom of same-sex couples to marry. We personally know many gay and lesbian people living in our cities who are in committed, loving relationships, who are active participants in the civic life of our communities, and who deserve to be able to marry the person with whom they share their life.

We are proud that at its 2009 annual meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously approved a resolution stating that: “The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports marriage equality for same-sex couples, and the recognition and extension of full equal rights to such unions, including family and medical leave, tax equity, and insurance and retirement benefits, and opposes the enshrinement of discrimination in the federal or state constitutions.”

Our cities derive great strength from their diversity, and gay and lesbian families are a crucial part. Studies have shown what we know through our hands-on experience—that cities that celebrate and cultivate diversity are the places where creativity and ideas thrive. They are the places where today’s entrepreneurs are most likely to choose to build the businesses of tomorrow. Allowing same-sex couples the right to marry enhances our ability to build this kind of environment, which is good for all of us.

We stand for the freedom to marry because it enhances the economic competitiveness of our communities, improves the lives of families that call our cities home, and is simply the right thing to do.  We look forward to working to build an America where all people can share in the love and commitment of marriage with the person with whom they share their life.

Mayors for Freedom to Marry is chaired by Mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York City, Thomas Menino of Boston, Annise Parker of Houston, Jerry Sanders of San Diego, and Antonio Villaraigosa of L.A., who write,

We invite our colleagues to join us in signing this statement as we advocate for the freedom to marry and build a nation where all loving couples who want to make the life-long commitment can share in the joy and respect of marriage.

The full list of members as of this writing include:

• Michael Bloomberg – New York, NY (Chair)
• Thomas Menino – Boston, MA (Chair)
• Annise Parker – Houston, Texas (Chair)
• Jerry Sanders – San Diego, CA (Chair)
• Antonio Villaraigosa – Los Angeles, CA (Chair)
• Samuel Adams – Portland, OR
• Tom Barrett – Milwaukee, WI
• Tom Bates – Berkeley, CA
• William Bell – Durham, NC
• David Berger – Lima, OH
• Stacey Patch Bernot – Carbondale, CO
• Richard Bloom – Santa Monica, CA
• Cory Booker – Newark, NJ
• Bruce Botelho – Juneau, AK
• Ardell Brede – Rochester, MN
• Carl Brewer – Wichita, KS
• Christopher Cabaldon – W. Sacramento, CA
• Tony Calderone – Forest Park, IL
• John Callahan – Bethlehem, PA
• Stephen Cassidy – San Leandro, CA
• Julian Castro – San Antonio, TX
• Craig Cates – Key West, FL
• Mark Chilton – Carrboro, NC
• Joshua Cohen – Annapolis, MD
• Chris Coleman – St. Paul, MN
• Michael Coleman – Columbus, OH
• Dennis Coombs – Longmont, CO
• Joy Cooper – Hallandale Beach, FL
• Frank Cownie – Des Moines, IA
• John DeStefano – New Haven, CT
• John Duran – West Hollywood, CA
• Paul Dyster – Niagara Falls, NY
• Jennifer Eckstrom – S. Tucson, AZ
• Rahm Emanuel – Chicago, IL
• Jo Emerson – White Bear Lake, MN
• Bill Finch – Bridgeport, CT
• Larry Forester – Sigal Hill, CA
• Peter Fosselman – Kensington, MD
• Bob Foster – Long Beach, CA
• Laura Friedman – Glendale, CA
• Ava Frisinger – Issaquah, WA
• Debora Fudge – Windsor, CA
• David Glass – Petaluma, CA
• Marie Gilmore – Alameda, CA
• Mike Gin – Redondo Beach, CA
• Vincent Gray – Washington, D.C.
• Michael Hancock – Denver, CO
• George Heartwell – Grand Rapids, MI
• John Hieftje – Ann Arbor, MI
• Bobby Hopewell – Kalamazoo, MI
• Sylvester James, Jr. – Kansas City, MO
• Edward Kelly – Cleveland Heights, OH
• Mark Kleinschmidt – Chapel Hill, NC
• Joe Krovoza – Davis, CA
• Mark Kruzan – Bloomington, IN
• Don Lane – Santa Cruz, CA
• Timothy Leavitt – Vancouver, WA
• Edwin Lee – San Francisco, CA
• Lee Leffingwell – Austin, TX
• Craig Lowe – Gainesville, FL
• David Lublin – Town of Chevy Chase, MD
• Karen Majewski – Hamtramck, MI
• Jan Marx – San Luis Obispo, CA
• Mike McGinn – Seattle, WA
• Alex Morse – Holyoke, MA
• Lori Moseley – Miramar, FL
• Jeri Muoio – West Palm Beach, FL
• David Narkewicz – Northampton, MA
• Don Ness – Duluth, MN
• Michael Nutter – Philadelphia, PA
• Mel Nieuwenhuis – Delavan, WI
• Frank Ortis – Pembroke Pines, FL
• Kitty Piercy – Eugene, OR
• Steve Pougnet – Palm Springs, CA
• John Preece – Delbarton, WV
• Jean Quan – Oakland, CA
• Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – Baltimore, MD
• Thomas Richards – Rochester, NY
• Douglas Richardson – Lakewood, WA
• Clarissa Rowe – Arlington, MA
• Matthew Ryan – Binghamton, NY
• RT Rybak – Minneapolis, MN
• Robert Sabonjian – Waukegan, IL
• Helene Schneider – Santa Barbara, CA
• Ann Schwab – Chico, CA
• Pedro Segarra – Hartford, CT
• Eric Senter – Franklinton, NC
• Jeffrey Slavin – Town of Somerset, MD
• Francis G. Slay – St. Louis, MO
• Paul Soglin – Madison, WI
• Joe Sinnott – Erie, PA
• Greg Stanton – Phoenix, AZ
• Marilyn Strickland – Tacoma, WA
• Angel Taveras – Providence, RI
• Nick Tell – Manhattan Beach, CA
• Elizabeth Tisdahl – Evanston, IL
• Setti Warren – Newton, MA
• Bruce Williams – Takoma Park, MD
• Dana Williams – Park City Park, UT

Here are highlights of the Mayors for Freedom to Marry press conference last Friday (length 4:12):

Here’s a longer video (14:08):