Proposition 8, DoMA and the Supreme Court (tags)
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage passed by California voters in November 2008, and also the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) that defines marriage under federal law as only between one man and one woman. But the current Right-wing Court is likely to uphold Prop. 8 as constitutional and leave the battle for marriage equality to state-by-state political and social campaigns.
Obama's Profile in Courage (tags)
Say what you will about President Obama's overall record, his recent endorsement of marriage equality for same-sex couples was an act of real political courage. It's not going to help him politically because the states in which it's going to win him more votes are large, cosmopolitan East and West Coast states he was going to carry anyway, while it's going to cost him votes in the South and so-called "swing states." It also dramatically contrasts him with Mitt Romney, who supports amending the U.S. Constitution to abolish marriage equality for same-sex couples.
San Diego Queer Groups Fight Proposition B (tags)
Queer organizations in San Diego, including Canvass for a Cause (CFAC) and the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.), are uniting against Proposition B, a "reform" initiative sponsored by openly Gay Right-wing Republican City Councilmember and Mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio that would destroy any hope of retirement security for city workers.
“Equality Nine” Marriage Rights Demonstrators to be Arraigned Sept. 30 (tags)
The “Equality Nine” — Michael Anderson, Brian Baumgardner, Sean Bohac, Felicity Bradley, Kelsey Hoffman, Mike Kennedy, Zakiya Khabir, Chuck Stemke, and Cecile Veillard — are activists with the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (SAME) who were arrested at a sit-in outside the San Diego County Clerk's office August 19. They're scheduled for arraignment at the San Diego County Courthouse, 220 West Broadway downtown, Thursday, September 30, and they want supporters to come to the plaza outside the courthouse at noon that day to show support.
Béla Dornon: Queer Photographer Seeks to Document California’s Same-Sex Marriages (tags)
Photographer Béla Dornon calls them the “142 Days” — from June 15, 2008, when the California Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriages to be legally recognized took effect, to November 4, 2008, when the passage of Proposition 8 took that right away again. He’s responded to his anger by starting a project to document every same-sex marriage that took place in California during that time, exhibit as many images of happy same-sex couples as he legally can, and thereby counter the Right-wing hate propaganda used to pass measures like Proposition 8.
One and One-Half Class Citizen (tags)
The California Supreme Court decision on May 26 upholding the validity of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage voters approved in last November’s election, but also ruling that the estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages in California between June 15 and November 4, 2008 were still legal, left the same-sex couples who got married in time (including this author) in an anomalous position. We can’t really call ourselves second-class citizens because our marriages are still in force, but we can’t call ourselves first-class citizens either because other couples with love and mutual commitment equal to our own can no longer follow suit. In a sense, the voters and the courts have granted us “special rights” we neither wanted nor expected.
Over 4,000 Rally in San Diego Against Prop. 8 Decision (tags)
Over 4,000 people attended a march and rally in San Diego on May 26 denouncing the California Supreme Court's decision upholding Proposition 8, the initiative banning same-sex marriage in California, while simultaneously keeping in force the estimated 18.000 marriages between same-sex couples during the 4 1/2 months the court's previous ruling allowing them was in effect. The mood of the action was a combination of sorrow, hope and determination to put the issue before California voters again and campaign at the ballot box for the repeal of Proposition 8.
Prop 8 Challenge Legal Team to Hold Press Conference Following Supreme Court Ruling (tags)
(Los Angeles, May 22, 2008) — The California Supreme Court has announced that it will rule Tuesday, May 26, 2009, on whether Proposition 8, passed by a slim majority of voters on November 4 and eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry, was a valid amendment to the California Constitution.
Re-Introduction of Uniting American Families Act (tags)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) re-introduced The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) in the House and Senate today. The legislation calls for an end to the immigration discrimination gay and lesbian Americans face when they seek to sponsor a foreign partner to live with them in the United States. “One of the fundamental principles of American immigration law and policy is the notion of family unification…. Unfortunately, same-sex couples committed to spending their lives together are not recognized as "families" under current federal law, including US immigration law,” said Nadler.
Prop. 8 and the Triumph of Theocracy (tags)
The passage of Proposition 8 proves that many American voters are committed to a basically theocratic view of government in which THEIR moral values and commitments should rule over others. It also means the Queer community needs to do some soul-searching over why people of color and others we considered natural allies voted for 8 in greater percentages than whites did, and whether "marriage" as a term carries too much religious baggage ever to win majority support for its legal extension to same-sex couples.
Marriage: Some Good News, More Bad News (tags)
The October 10 Connecticut Supreme Court decision endorsing marriage equality for same-sex couples was good news, but it was far overshadowed by the devastating new poll results on Proposition 8, which seeks to overturn the similar ruling last May by the California Supreme Court. Not only has Yes on 8 taken the lead, but they've done so by organizing younger voters — whom marriage equality supporters had assumed would be a bulwark of their coalitiion.
What They're Really Saying in the Debates (tags)
A brief analysis of the televised debates between vice-presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joseph Biden October 2 and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain October 7. The post also includes a transcript of the answers Palin and Biden gave to the question on the legal rights of same-sex couples, including whether they should have marriage equality.
Hollywood Celebrities make YouTube videos for equal marriage rights (tags)
Hollywood Celebrities make YouTube videos for equal marriage rights
Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) Gets 100th House Co-Sponsor (tags)
Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) became the 100th Congressional co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA, H.R. 2221) on 1st August, 2008. The UAFA is a bill before Congress that would make a small change to existing immigration law to close a loophole barring gay and lesbian Americans in committed relationships with foreign partners from sponsoring their partner for a green card. These same-sex binational couples are denied the right that opposite-sex couples have been afforded for decades – the right to legally keep their families together in the United States.
Bush Signs President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Legislation (tags)
President Bush signed the President’s Emergency Program (PEPFAR) into law yesterday at the White House.The landmark bill, which passed in both the House and Senate by wide margins earlier this month, provides $48 billion over the next five years for the global fight of AIDS. Within the legislation is a directive to lift the HIV travel/immigration ban, which bars foreign travelers with HIV/AIDS from entering the United States unless they obtain a spouse or family waiver. That ban is blatantly discriminatory, particularly against gay men and lesbians with the illness, because under current US immigration law, their partners do not qualify as spouses or family.
Queer Marriage Advocates Launch "Decline to Sign" Drive (tags)
Faced with a well-funded campaign to permanently ban same-sex marriage in the California constitution, Queer and Queer-friendly Californians are joining forces to mount a volunteer campaign to keep marraige equality opponents from getting the signatures they need to get their initiative on the ballot at all.
S.F. Assemblymember Leno Speaks on Same-Sex Marriage (tags)
San Francisco Assemblymember Mark Leno was the keynote speaker at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club's Freedom Banquet fundraiser October 6. He talked about the bill for marriage equality for same-sex couples he's pushed through the California legislature twice, the likelihood that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will veto it (as he did in 2005) and the various radical-Right initiative proposals to ban marriage for same-sex couples in California forever.
SPLITS ROCK COUPLES FOR CHRIST/GAWAD KALINGA(GK) (tags)
he Couples for Christ (CFC) , one of the biggest Catholic lay organization with membership in 160 countries announced it has spit into two with the largest segment remaining as CFC, the Philippine News reported today. Until the release of the letter dated August 16, the internal dissension was kept under wraps. The CFC was established in 1981. The CFC started the Gawad Kalinga (GK) program that seeks to build 777, 000 housing units for the “poorest of the poor” in the Philippines.
Gays demonstrate at Vatican for civil unions - Sat Jan 13 (tags)
Members of gay and lesbian associations hold flowers as they demonstrate on St. Peter's square at the Vatican January 13, 2007 in Rome. The groups, which converged on the square in memory of an activist who killed himself there nine years ago, demonstrated against Pope Benedict XVI's latest speech on PACS, Italy's proposed social agreement for unmarried couples.
N.J. lawmakers approve bill to legalize civil unions (tags)
The Legislature voted Thursday to make New Jersey the third state to allow civil unions. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said he would sign the measure.
BTL:Connecticut Set to Become 2nd State to Pass Same-Sex Civil Union Bill (tags)
Interview with Ann Stanback, president of the group Love Makes a Family, conducted by Between the Lines' Scott Harris
N.Y. Judge Orders Gay Marriage (tags)
"It is clear that moral disapproval of same-sex couples or of individual homosexuals is not a legitimate state purpose or a rational reason for depriving plaintiffs of their right to choose their spouse."
Partner benefits only for homosexuals (tags)
University discriminates against 'straight' unmarried couples: Ohio University is offering "domestic-partner" benefits to employees, but only same-sex couples can apply.
The Liberal Case Against Gay Marriage (tags)
It is commonly thought that the issue of gay marriage pits secular liberals against religious conservatives. While this understanding is accurate up to a point, it is also seriously misleading. The most stubborn and intransigent opponents in the conflict are both in their way sectarian.
Same-sex marriage: Its time has come (tags)
The struggle for marriage equality saw its first major victory last month as Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment: Tightening Tradition's Chain (tags)
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Bush's "Marriage Protection Week " = Attack on Gay Rights (tags)
Bush has declared the week of october 15th as "Marriage Protection Week".
Please join our nearly 700 members. AidsMythExposed.com is the forum that EVERY member and supporter of the 'AIDS' dissident cause should consider membership of as an imperative. AidsMythExposed.com is already the largest MSNBC 'HIV/AIDS' forum but is now on its way to being the largest 'AIDS' forum in the World (Dissident or Conventional). • A growth greater than TheBody, About AIDS/HIV forum, AidsMeds.Com and ALL 267 MSNBC HIV/AIDS Worldwide COMBINED. • The six hundred plus members include: - 9 Doctors, 11 Phd's (like a Professor of Bioinformatics/Molecular at Institut fur Biochemie, Charite, Berlin) and three famous science writers. • Members from the USA, Canada, South Africa, China, Chile, France, Spain, Romanis, Korea, Thailand, Germany, Italy, and many other countries.
A commentary on cultural clash, arranged marriage and the show Married By America.
New Studies Raise Questions (tags)
A new African AIDS study seriously challenges the widely accepted hypothesis that HIV is a sexually transmitted virus. The study, by Dr. David Gisselquist, et al, appeared in the International Journal of STD & AIDS.
Conservative lawmakers seek to divorce themselves from gay-marriage legislation (tags)
Legislation that would create a parallel system of marriage for gay couples in California is raising a political fury between Democratic lawmakers and conservative voices who say marriage should only exist between a man and a woman.