Tag: gay marriage

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Former Minnesota Governor denounces anti-gay marriage amendment

Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura says he’ll do anything he can to defeat the anti-gay marriage amendment on the ballot there in November, the Post Bulletin reports:

Ventura said the issue is personal for him because when he was a professional wrestler he had a friend who was gay who had been with his partner for more than 20 years. When his friend’s partner got sick, he was unable to be by his bedside because hospital rules allowed only spouses or next of kin.

“And because they are not allowed to be married, he’s neither. That’s cruel,” he said.

Ventura said he believes the majority should not be able to make decisions about the civil rights of a minority.

“If you did that, we would still have slavery because the majority isn’t going to think about the minority,” he said. “You have to have politicians with courage, who will stand up and say this is a civil rights issue, and where do we get off that the government should decide who you should fall in love with and marry?”

(Via Towleroad)

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Poll: Marriage equality leads by 19 points in Maine

A poll released today shows the attempt to return same-sex marriage to Maine leading by a wide margin.

55 percent of voters support a referendum to legalize marriage between gay and lesbian couples, while only 36 percent oppose the proposed law. If passed, the referendum will provide marriage licenses for same-sex couples without requiring any religion or clergy to perform a ceremony that would violate their religious doctrine. In 2009, Maine voters repealed a law legalizing same-sex marriage.

(Via JoeMyGod)

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Poll: Nevada Republicans support brothels by 66%, marriage for gays and lesbians 20%

I think this is truly the definition of hypocrisy.

You know how conservatives have a big problem with marriage equality for gays and lesbians because of their deeply religious beliefs?  Get this…

A new Public Policy Polling poll finds that brothels enjoy popular support across all political parties in Nevada, including 66 percent of both Democrats and Republicans.

A March poll found that only 20 percent of Nevada Republicans support same-sex marriage, a juxtaposition that PPP described as “an interesting take on family values.”

Nevada’s brothels have no legal restrictions on sexual orientation, so according to the state’s Republicans, it’s okay if gays and lesbians pay for sex, just so long as they don’t settle down and start families.

(Via ThinkProgress)

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A wedding in Iowa…

Good As You notes:

“It’s just an army man, Paul, and his love, David, in a non-church setting, entering into a *civil* marriage contract in the state of Iowa.  This is what we equal rights activists are fighting to achieve in all states and federally, even as our opposition continues to throw religious asides our way.”

Now – anyone threatened here? Didn’t think so…

I think this is beautiful. Reminds me very much of how Michael and I got married.

Great, fabulous day in my life. I wish Paul and David the very best. Congratulations.

Michael and I getting married in 2003

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Fifth grader prohibited from giving speech on marriage equality

A Queens, New York fifth-grader named Kameron Slade won a class competition and was slated to deliver a speech as part of a school-wide competition at PS 195.

However, because Kameron’s speech was to be about same-sex marriage, his principal told him he would be removed from the contest if he did not choose a different topic. Here are some excerpts from Kameron’s “inappropriate” speech:

SLADE: Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge? If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice. We must learn to accept all differences.[…]

My mom is very open to me about same-gender marriage. However, some adults may feel uncomfortable and think it’s inappropriate to talk about this to children. I think adults must realize that as children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what’s the point in trying to hide it?

In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are. Same-gender marriage is becoming more popular. I believe that same-gender marriage should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.

Some parents agreed with the principal that the topic was an “adult conversation” that didn’t belong in school, but Kameron’s own speech addresses this hollow complaint. In addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from communities entirely.

Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive. Young Slade should be applauded for doing for his peers what his school community refuses to do. Supposedly, he will have the opportunity to give this speech in some sort of different assembly, but in the meantime, he is preparing a speech for the competition about preventing animal cruelty.

(Via ThinkProgress)

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Cook County State’s Attorney says gay marriage ban violates Illinois state constitution

The Illinois attorney’s office has announced that it will concede that the state’s ban on marriages for same-sex couples is unconstitutional in conjunction with two lawsuits filed against the Cook County Clerk.

The governor, the Attorney General, and now the state attorney of Cook County all support same-sex marriage in Illinois.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office says she’ll submit a filing Thursday that indicates she agrees with several parts of two lawsuits challenging the same sex marriage ban in Illinois, in a move that signals another legal victory for proponents of same-sex marriage. Alvarez’s office said it “will admit the salient allegations within the complaint and concede that the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution prohibits discrimination in the issuance of marriage licenses based upon sex or sexual orientation.” “We are in agreement with the plaintiffs that Illinois laws that prohibit same sex marriage are unconstitutional. We believe the plaintiffs are correct in their assertion that the Illinois Constitution upholds marriage equality for same sex couples just as it does for opposite sex couples,” the statement said.

I’m certain anti-gay groups will step forward to defend against the suit themselves.
Same-sex couples in Illinois are currently able to enter into civil unions.

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Maryland: President Obama urges support of marriage equality

At a campaign fundraiser, last night in Baltimore, President Obama urged Maryland voters to uphold the marriage equality law passed there earlier this year, the Washington Blade reports:

“We’re moving forward to a country where we treat everybody fairly and everybody equally, with dignity and respect,” he said during a campaign fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore. “And here in Maryland, thanks to the leadership of committed citizens and Gov. O’Malley, you have a chance to reaffirm that principle in the voting booth in November. It’s the right thing to do.”

Obama’s comments come less than a month after the Maryland Marriage Alliance submitted 113,000 signatures – more than double the 55,736 signatures they needed to collect by the end of the month to put the same-sex marriage law on the ballot. An unofficial count posted to the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website on Tuesday shows that officials have validated 109,317 of the 113,000 signatures.

A poll released shortly after Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality in late May showed that his words had an impact, Dominion of New York reported:

A poll released yesterday shows that Maryland’s support for gay marriage has increased 12 percent since Obama’s endorsement, with most of the shift coming from African-American voters who have flipped their stance on the issue. Fifty-five percent of Maryland blacks now support gay marriage and would vote against such an amendment and 36 percent oppose it, according to the poll. It’s likely Obama’s endorsement affected them. Before it, 56 percent of blacks opposed gay marriage and 39 percent supported it.

Via Towleroad

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Carrie Underwood supports marriage equality

Carrie Underwood has revealed to the Independent that she is a strong believer in marriage equality for gays and lesbians:

“As a married person myself, I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love, and want to marry,” she said. “I can’t imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”

Ms. Underwood was speaking to the British newspaper in preparation for her first-ever concert in the UK, which shall be held at the Royal Albert Hall later this month.

From the Independent:

Underwood draws much of her fanbase from evangelical Christians, speaks frequently about her faith and has made religion the subject of several of her best-known songs, including the No 1 country hit “Jesus Take the Wheel”.

She said, however, that her liberal attitude towards same-sex marriage comes because of her Christian values, rather than in spite of them. Though raised a Baptist, a church that tends to oppose homosexuality, Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher, a professional ice-hockey player, now worship in a non-denominational congregation.

“Our church is gay friendly,” she said. “Above all, God wanted us to love others. It’s not about setting rules, or [saying] ‘everyone has to be like me’. No. We’re all different. That’s what makes us special. We have to love each other and get on with each other. It’s not up to me to judge anybody.”

Underwood, 29, swept to fame in 2005 after winning American Idol. In the interview, she condemned “people who use the Bible for hate”, adding: “That’s not how I would want myself as a Christian to be represented.”

Underwood’s new album, Blown Away, and her single, “Good Girl,” currently occupy the top spots on the Billboard country charts.

(Via Towleroad)

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Denmark passes marriage equality

Denmark’s Parliament today voted that same-sex couples there can have a full marriage ceremony in church, rather than having truncated, “less-than” ceremonies.

From ABC News:
Denmark’s Parliament has approved a law allowing same-sex couples to get married in formal church weddings instead of the short blessing ceremonies that the state’s Lutheran Church currently offers.
Lawmakers voted 85-24 on Thursday to change Denmark’s marriage laws.
The law takes effect June 15 and will put Denmark on par with countries such as Iceland and Sweden that allow full wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.

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State of California to investigate anti-gay National Organization for Marriage

As a result of complaints by GOP presidential candidate Fred Karger, the California Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate NOM for campaign finance violations.

Press release from Fred Karger:

In his sworn complaint of May 17th, Karger alleged that NOM did not report over $340,000 that it raised to pass Proposition 8 four years ago.

California joins the state of Maine which is in its third year of its investigation of NOM, the leading anti-gay marriage organization in the country.

One of the 11 missing contributions was $10,000 from presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s Alabama PAC. In addition to the Romney money there were 10 more contributions NOM did not report, including: $150,000 from Michael Casey of Jamestown, RI, $100,000 from Sean Fiedler of New York, NY and $25,000 from NOM Board member Craig Cardon of Mesa, AZ, a General Authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church).

Via JoeMyGod