Category: Uncategorized

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Newt Gingrich says the GOP should “deal with reality” when it comes to same-sex marriage

Earlier this week, in a stunning reversal, Newt Gingrich (of the “thrice -marriaged” Newt Gingrich) publicly stated that the GOP should get with it in terms of marriage equality saying it’s a “reality.”

From the Huffington Post: On gay marriage, meanwhile, Gingrich argued that Republicans could no longer close their eyes to the course of public opinion. While he continued to profess a belief that marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman, he suggested that the party (and he himself) could accept a distinction between a “marriage in a church from a legal document issued by the state” — the latter being acceptable.

“I think that this will be much more difficult than immigration for conservatism to come to grips with,” he said, noting that the debate’s dynamics had changed after state referenda began resulting in the legalization of same-sex marriage. “It is in every family. It is in every community. The momentum is clearly now in the direction in finding some way to … accommodate and deal with reality. And the reality is going to be that in a number of American states — and it will be more after 2014 — gay relationships will be legal, period.”

Gingrich, a convert to Roman Catholicism, said he recognizes the distinction between religious and civil marriage. He and his church consider the former to be limited to male-female couples, but he has no problem with the state giving legal recognition to same-sex pairs, he said.

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Second GOP Congressman announces support to repeal DOMA

Rep. Richard Hanna

Rep. Richard Hanna of New York declared his support for legislation to repeal the 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples. The announcement makes him the second Republican lawmaker to back the measure.

Hanna, a first-term incumbent from upstate New York, announced his co-sponsorship of the Respect for Marriage Act in a statement provided to The Advocate.

“New York State allows all its citizens the freedom to marry the person they love,” he said. “Under the Tenth Amendment, the federal government has a Constitutional responsibility to respect New York’s right to set its own laws. It’s my job to see that it does.

“It is right to extend equal protection under federal law to all couples who are legally married without infringing upon religious freedom and beliefs,” Hanna continued. “This legislation does not tell states who can be married or who must be treated as married, nor does it require any religious institution to violate their own convictions.

“I respect the deeply held beliefs on both sides of this issue,” he said. “The simple fact remains that the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all legally married couples are treated equally under federal law – and this bill would achieve that proper standard.”

His announcement continues the sea change taking place around the measure that passed both houses of Congress by large majorities 16 years ago and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Hanna joins Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the first Republican lawmaker to back DOMA repeal.

More at the Advocate.

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Chuck Hagel apologizes for anti-gay remarks with Sec. of Defense nomination looming

Back in 1998, then-Senator Chuck Hagel had some choice anti-gay words for James Hormel, who was nominated to be Ambassador to Luxembourg.

Here’s a sample of Mr. Hagel’s thoughts at the time: “Ambassadorial posts are sensitive.  They are representing America. They are representing our lifestyle, our values, our standards. And I think it is an inhibiting factor to be gay — openly, aggressively gay, like Mr. Hormel — to do an effective job.”

Now, years later, as Hagel looks to be the leading candidate for Secretary of Defense, Hagel is “cleaning up his history” a bit to look somewhat better. He has now – 14 years later – apologized for those remarks of 1998.

Here’s his recent statement:

“My comments 14 years ago in 1998 were insensitive. They do not reflect my views or the totality of my public record, and I apologize to Ambassador Hormel and any LGBT Americans who may question my commitment to their civil rights. I am fully supportive of ‘open service’ and committed to LGBT military families.”

James Hormel, the man who would be apologized to, says he has not heard from Mr. Hagel.

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Marriage equality comes to São Paulo State in Brazil

This week in Brazil, São Paulo State gave the green light to same-sex marriages.

Brazilian Law Blog reports:

Brazil is about to see something that we only heard about from the United States: a massive movement of people going to one specific State, in order to get married there. This is because São Paulo State (where São Paulo city is located) has updated its registration rules in order to allow the automatic registration of same sex marriages, without the need of a previous court order. This change has followed, with some delay, a decision from the Brazilian Supreme Court regarding same sex marriage.

The state of Sao Paulo has 41 million residents! The city of Sao Paulo is the largest in the southern hemisphere.

(via JMG)

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Rebel Wilson to host the MTV Movie Awards

Rebel Wilson, one of the breakout stars from this year’s comedy Pitch Perfect, has been tapped to host the MTV Movie Awards for 2013.

MTV made the announcement on Thursday with a video revealing that the Australian actress will host the show, which will air on MTV live on April 14. The awards are handed out at the Sony Pictures Studio Lot in Culver City, California.

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NRA press conference: More guns will make schools safer

The National Rifle Association on Friday announced it’s plan and support for putting armed police officers in every school in the country as a way to avoid tragedies like the 26 deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.

“I call on Congress today to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation,” Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president, said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. There, he unveiled the National School Shield NRA Education and Training Emergency Response program, to be headed up by former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson.

Under the proposed program, schools would be permitted to tailor the type of security desired to their school’s situation or refuse it altogether.

“Innocent lives might have been spared,” LaPierre said, if armed security was present. “The only thing that stops bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

LaPierre, Hutchison and David Keene, president of the NRA, all declined to take questions from the press Friday and said NRA press officers won’t be responding to the media until Monday.

More at Yahoo News

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2012: What Brought Us Together

Video compilation by Jean-Louis Nguyen

From the YouTube description: It was a year of breakthroughs, adversity, accomplishments. And the web shared all of it.

From the highest sky-dive to the fastest running man, a first vote or last mission, joys and tragedies, grumpy cats and flash mobs, from silly to serious; whatever it is that we shared in 2012, here is a compilation.

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Anderson Cooper honors Spencer Cox – AIDS/HIV activist

Spencer Cox, a prominent voice in the fight against AIDS for more than two decades, died Tuesday at the age of 44.

After three years as a student at Bennington College in Vermont, he moved to New York. By 1989, at age 20, he had joined the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, better known as Act Up, the organization devoted to pushing government and private industry, often with demonstrations, sit-ins and other tactics, to dedicate more resources for AIDS treatment and prevention.

In 1992, he was among the Act Up members who formed the Treatment Action Group, known as TAG, to focus on accelerating treatment research.

Along with other TAG colleagues, Mr. Cox schooled himself in the science of AIDS, the workings of drug trials and the government approval process. While still in his 20s he represented people with AIDS in high-level meetings with the Federal Drug Administration and other agencies and private companies.

Via New York Times