10 Nov
Dan Savage on Redefining “Marriage”
He makes some good points.
Archive for the 'gay marriage' Tag
05 Nov
Gay Marriage Update: New York and New Hampshire
New York Governor Patterson has called a special session of the Legislature for next Tuesday. On the agenda will be same-sex marriage.
Also, anti-gay bigots have been feeling like hot shit after their Maine win. Unfortunately, that means they might be considering a repeal of New Hampshire’s gay marriage law too. Oy vey, here we go again.
04 Nov
Washington Affirms Gays, Maine Rejects Gay Marriage
The voters in Washington state passed Referendum 71 yesterday which allows the state’s “Everything by Marriage” bill to go into effect. The new law will be similar to California’s domestic partners law which grants gay and lesbian couples all of the state-wide rights and responsibilities of marriage, without calling it “marriage.”
Unfortunately, Maine voters rejected the new gay marriage law that the Governor and state Legislature had approved. Question 1 asked voters whether they wanted gays to get married or not. Mainers said “No” 53 to 47 percent. Those numbers look awfully familiar. (California’s Prop 8 spread was 52 to 48.)
I feel that we are just about a five or ten years too early to be winning in the court of public opinion. We have some courts on our side, and even a few legislatures and governors. But, if we keep getting our rights put before the people for a popularity contest, I fear that we won’t fare much better than this for a while.
Oh, and any chance we might have had at having New Jersey finally convert from civil unions to full marriage was thwarted when uber-conservative Chris Christie beat out incumbent Jon Corzine last night.
29 Oct
Argentina Considers Gay Marriage
Is Argentina ready to become Latin America’s first nation to legalize gay marriage?
Gay and lesbian activists think so — and they have a growing number of supporters in Congress, which opened debate Thursday on whether to change dozens of laws that define marriage as a union between a “man and woman.”
“We can’t expect social equality if the state is legitimizing inequality,” said Maria Rachid, president of Argentina’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Federation. “We now have the social and political context necessary to change the law.”
…
Argentina’s capital established its gay-friendly reputation in 2002 by becoming the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and such unions also now are recognized in Mexico City and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide.
Canada is the only nation in the Americas where gay marriage is now legal; in the Spanish-speaking world, only Spain has taken this additional step.
27 Oct
Stephen Colbert Tackles Washington’s Referendum 71
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – Don’t Ask Don’t Tell | ||||
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21 Oct
86 Year-old WWII Vet on Marriage Equality
In case you missed this on every other gay blog covering it today. It’s pretty powerful. I got a little teary-eyed watching it.
12 Oct
Schwarzenegger Signs Harvey Milk Day Bill
Good for you Arnold. Via the Sacramento Bee:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two gay rights bills, one honoring late activist Harvey Milk and another recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
In the last of hundreds of bill actions taken before midnight Sunday, Schwarzenegger approved the two bills by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.
The governor last year vetoed the measure declaring May 22 a state day of recognition for Milk, suggesting that the former San Francisco supervisor be honored locally. But he subsequently named him to the California Hall of Fame.
Leno’s SB 54, meanwhile, requires California to recognize marriages performed in other states where same sex marriage is legal.
In a signing message, Schwarzenegger said California will not recognize the couples as married but will “provide the same legal protections that would otherwise be available to couples that enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships out-of-state. In short, this measure honors the will of the People in enacting Proposition 8 while providing important protections to those unions legally entered into in other states.”
11 Oct
Lady GaGa at National Equality March
From the CNN.com:
“Obama, I know you are listening,” pop star Lady Gaga told the crowd, before shouting, “Are you listening? We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality.”
10 Oct
Bill Maher’s Gay Rights New Rule
New Rule: Everyone deserves equal rights.
That’s why they’re called “equal” and “rights.” Tomorrow night President Obama will speak before a gay rights group, and on Sunday there will be a massive gay rally in Washington, or as I call it, the Million Mo March. Which makes this weekend the perfect time for Obama to announce he’s repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” and committing to a full-throated endorsement of gay marriage. One, because it’s the right thing to do and two, because it will throw the conservative base into such a frenzied, pants-shitting panic that they’ll drop all that BS about death panels and socialism and let us all get some actual work done.
But of course that’s not going to happen. I can tell you what the president is going to tell his audience tomorrow: How much he supports them. How much he agrees with them. And how he wishes he was President so he could help them out. But here’s the thing about being president. There isn’t a lot you can do without either Congress, Oprah or Goldman Sachs behind you. But there is one thing the president can do with the stroke of a pen: He can let gays serve openly in the military. It’s called an executive order. Harry Truman wrote one in 1948 for blacks in the military, and that was that.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” has always been bad policy that was made out of a bullshit political compromise. You know, like you’re doing now with health care. It never made sense to begin with: “Here in the Army we’re all about honor. And trusting the man next to you. Now lie to my face about your sexuality, Johnson, or I’ll report you behind your back.”
When Obama speaks tomorrow, he should not only revoke “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but also change our military’s slogan to “An Army of Buns.” And starting next year, gay busing. Yes, if there aren’t any gay families in your community, we’ll bring them to you. Your field hockey team can thank us later.
And when they get out there on Sunday, Gay Nation also needs to do everything in their power to scare the hell out of right-wing homophobes. I want to see you guys rollerblading down the Mall in nothing but a speedo and a nun’s habit, holding a sparkler in one hand and a penis popsicle in the other.
09 Oct
Maine Matters: Gay Marriage
Okay, let me break it down for you. Gay marriage is being challenged at the voting booth yet again. This time the battlefield is Maine. Remember Prop 8? This time it’s called Question 1. Same thing, different state.
Gay marriage in Maine needs our help. I just dug into my savings account and donated because I know that it’s that freaking important. I even got a little emotional as I did it. Deja vu perhaps… Donate or volunteer here.
Here’s the history: Maine’s Governor signed a law that legalized gay marriage earlier this year. The National Organization for Marriage (aka NOM – the group who did the Gathering Storm YouTube video) immediately put forth a statewide a ballot initiative called Question 1. This is shaping up exactly like Prop 8. In fact, the anti-gay marriage folks have even hired the same firm who ran the Yes on Prop 8 campaign.
We have a real chance to win this one. Can you imagine if the Maine Legislature, the Governor, and then the Maine citizens all affirm gay marriage? It would be tremendous for the momentum of the gay marriage movement. If we lose, it could be devastating. Imagine the nasty precedent: First California then Maine revoking the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. The message to the courts and lawmakers: The people just don’t want gay marriage.
Even the guy running the anti-gay marriage campaign in Maine agrees (via the Wash Post):
The ads in Maine are produced by the same experienced hands that turned the California vote, but Mutty said that he only wished there was more money coming in from national conservatives. “It could be the first time that they are able to win at the polls,” he said of the gay marriage advocates. “It would mean them breaking through. For us winning would mean holding them off. Maine could really blow it for them.”
So pony up! Pull yourself up out your depression and complacency if that’s where you’re still languishing after our Prop 8 defeat. Each and every one of us has to make a difference this time, and every time gay marriage is threatened!
PS. On a personal side note, Christian and I spent our third date volunteering for the No on Prop 8 campaign. Now, a year later, we are engaged in a state that won’t let us get married. I can’t imagine the same thing happening to gays and lesbians in Maine.
08 Oct
Texas Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Via the SF Bay Times:
Dallas District Judge Tena Callahan ruled Oct. 1 that Texas’ constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
The determination came in the case of two men who married in Massachusetts and now want to divorce in Texas, which Callahan decided to allow. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Gov. Rick Perry expressed alarm at the ruling, and Abbott said he would appeal it “to defend the traditional definition of marriage.” Perry called the decision “flawed” and urged an appeal.
The Dallas News has more.
via Tree
09 Sep
“Family Values” Politician Caught Bragging About Affair
So let me get this right: You oppose gay marriage and stump for the protection of your definition of “family values,” and yet at the same time you have kinky extramarital affairs with lobbyists. Lobbyists who represent companies who stand to benefit from the specific committees you sit upon. Is that about right? Yes? Amazing.
24 Aug
New Jersery Gearing Up for Gay Marriage Battle?
Via CBS:
A bill that would allow gay marriage is expected to be debated in Trenton during the lame-duck period between the Nov. 3 election and start of a new legislative session in January.
In the fall, there probably will be television and radio ads on the issue. But for now, the focus is mostly on the faithful speaking to their representatives in Trenton.
In 2006, the state Supreme Court said that committed gay couples deserved the same treatment as straight married couples. The Legislature responded by making New Jersey the third state to offer civil unions, which give the same legal benefits the state offers to married couples, but not the title of marriage.
That didn’t settle the issue. continued…