Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Barney Frank – US Senator?

It appears Barney Frank might be interested in hanging around Washington, D.C. just a bit longer, Politico reports:

Barney Frank, one day out of Congress, said on Friday that he has asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to send him back as an interim senator when Sen. John Kerry becomes secretary of state.
“A month ago, or a few weeks ago, I said I wasn’t interested,” Frank said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It was kind of like you’re about to graduate, and they said: ‘You gotta go to summer school.’ But [the fiscal cliff deal] now means that February, March and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history.”
He added, “I’ve told the governor I would now like, frankly, to do that [serve as interim senator].”

Franks says he would not run for Kerry’s seat in a summer special election.

Posted on

Illinois: Marriage equality passes in state senate committee

So from expectation, to cancellation to committee debate.

Marriage equality has passed in the Illinois Senate committee!  The legislation passed with a vote of 8-5 in favor.

The gay marriage bill still needs to be approved by both the state House of Representatives, which has been considered more conservative than the state Senate, and by the full state Senate.

According to the Windy City Times, the House will convene on Jan. 6 and 7, when the bill may be considered. Then, the Senate may take up the bill on Jan. 8, the final day of the lame-duck legislative session. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has already said he will sign the bill.

NOM sent out the email below to their supporters just a TAD early don’t you think?   LOL…

(Source)

Posted on

Pop star Kesha comes out as bisexual?

“I don’t love just men. I love people. It’s not about a gender. It’s just about the spirit that exudes from that other person you’re with. I’m all about standing up to gay/lesbian/transgender bullying, but it’s also about my little brother. He’s 13 and he gets made fun of because he has a stutter. I just have zero tolerance for people making fun of others.” – Pop star Kesha, coming out as bisexual to Seventeen Magazine.

Posted on

Rhode Island: Marriage equality bills introduced in both state house and state senate

Marriage equality bills were introduced today in both the Rhode Island House and Senate:

The identical bills were sponsored by Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, (House bill 5015) and Sen. Donna Nesselbush, D-Pawtucket. Handy said 42 of 75 House members had signed on as cosponsors, while Nesselbush said 11 of 38 Senate members had signed on as of 4:50 p.m. The bills would define marriage as the “legally recognized union” of two people.

The bills would define marriage as the “legally recognized union” of two people.

Same-sex marriage is recognized in nine states, including all the other New England states, as well as the District of Columbia. Thirty-seven states define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Posted on

Day One of new Congress – House GOP votes to reauthorize DOMA defense fund

As Congress begins its 113th session, House Republicans have pledged to continue funding a legal effort to defend the federal law that prevents the government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

The Republican-led Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group has already spent $1.7 million paying outside legal counsel to intervene in 14 federal challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act in courts since the Obama Administration and the Department of Justice decided to stop defending the law in court in 2011.

Response from LGBT advocacy groups was quick:

Freedom To Marry:

“It’s truly disheartening that, on a day of new beginnings on Capitol Hill, the leadership of the House of Representatives is advancing a measure, through its rules, to continue spending taxpayer dollars on expensive lawyers to defend the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in court.

“This law has been struck down as unconstitutional 10 times, with support from judges appointed by Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes. It’s past time for the Republican leadership to listen to their constituents, a majority of whom support the freedom to marry, and stop wasting precious resources in an effort to treat fellow Americans as second-class citizens.”

Human Rights Campaign:

“In their very first act of the 113th Congress, House Republican leaders have written their commitment to their multi-million-dollar defense of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act into the Rules of the House.

“It is particularly disappointing that this historic Congress – with the largest-ever class of openly lesbian, gay and bisexual Members and same-sex congressional spouses – has begun with a vote that disrespects those new Members and all LGBT Americans.

“To date, the GOP leadership in the House has spent nearly $2 million on DOMA – despite the fact that a majority of Americans support marriage equality. The new rules package codifies that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG), charged with the defense of DOMA, speaks for the entirety of the House. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, however, oppose spending taxpayer dollars on defending DOMA.

(via JMG)

Posted on

Illinois: No marriage equality vote today

IllinoissenateTime is running out for the end of the legislative session on January 9. Senate Democrats say it will not happen this week.

The Windy City Times reports:

Anthony Martinez, executive director of The Civil Rights Agenda, confirmed that Senate Democrats have stated that the vote will not come to pass Jan. 3 or 4. Repeated foibles have raised serious questions about whether the vote can pass by Jan. 9, when new lawmakers are sworn in.

Senate Democrats had hoped for a vote on Thursday, but they failed to secure the votes to waive a 24-hour rule on the posting of the original marriage bill. Democrats then tacked marriage equality onto an unrelated bill in an attempt to push it through faster.

But two supportive senators have been called away from Springfield on family emergencies, leaving sponsors scrambling to secure needed votes.

“It doesn’t mean that the whole marriage equality bill in the lame duck session dies,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.

However, a big push remains for supportive senators. The Senate will have to be called back for a special session on Jan. 8 if they are take up marriage equality before Jan. 9. That would mean that the House will be voting on marriage before the Senate takes it up.

The Illinois House is scheduled to reconvene on January 6-7.

UPDATE: Plenty of mixed signals on what’s happening in Illinois, given the earlier report from the Windy City Times on the delayed status of the marriage equality bill, because there is a hearing underway now in the Senate Executive Committee.

You can watch it LIVE HERE.