Tag: marriage equality

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Hawaii: No marriage equality bill this session

Hawaii’s House Judiciary Committee has decided not to schedule a hearing for a marriage equality bill this session, the Star-Advertiser reports:

The decision today came on the day that about 150 supporters of gay marriage gathered at the state Capitol to call on legislators to take up a bill before it was too late.

State Rep. Karl Rhoads, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that after polling his colleagues he determined there was not the political will for a gay-marriage bill this session.

(via StarAdvertiser)

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France: National Assembly approves marriage equality 329-229

France’s lower house of parliament has approved a sweeping bill to legalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children.  The bill passed by a vote of 329-229.

President Francois Hollande’s Socialists have pushed the measure through the National Assembly, and now, the bill heads to the Senate which is also controlled by the Socialists.

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Matt Barber & Mat Staver: You are a crime against nature

Staver – “At the time of the founding of this country no one even thought that two men and two women would be wanting to marry.”

Randy Report – They didn’t know about AK-47’s either but folks fight for those today.

Barber – “Yeah, the aberrant sexual behavior, the twisting of normal human sexuality that would be involved in order to consummate a so-called same-sex marriage in all 13 of the original colonies was a crime.”

Randy Report – Yes – and slavery was legal. We changed our view on slavery, so…?

On and on it goes. This is the kind of crap that gets fed people every day by the Liberty Counsel.

Lord have mercy on these sad men.

(via JMG)

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Freedom To Marry announces $2 million in support for marriage equality in 6 states

According to Buzzfeed, Freedom to Marry has just announced they plan to spend $2 million in 2013 to advance marriage equality efforts around the country:

According to a statement provided to BuzzFeed, Freedom to Marry is starting the 2013 effort — called the Win More States Fund — by investing $800,000 in the six states where marriage bills are being debated: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.

“Building on our 4 for 4 ballot victories in November, Freedom to Marry is calling on supporters to join us in continuing the momentum and winning still more states in 2013.

“With the clock ticking on the Supreme Court’s review of marriage cases, we want to make as much progress as we can – and with battles already underway now in state capitals, we all need to put our money where our momentum is,” Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said in a statement.

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Illinois: Gov. Quinn underscores support for marriage equality in State of the State address

In his State Of The State address to the Illinois legislature, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn reiterated his support for marriage equality:

“Marriage equality is coming to Illinois. Now, it’s time to take the next step in achieving full equality.  Let’s pass this bill for marriage equality and let’s do it now.  Our Illinois is not a land of discrimination.”

The marriage equality bill is currently scheduled for a vote in the state Senate on Valentine’s Day.  

The bill has the backing of both state legislative houses plus the state GOP chairman Pat Brady, who has become the target of resignation demands from anti-gay groups.

(via JMG)

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Rhode Island: Gov. Chafee on the economic benefits of same-sex marriage

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee presses for marriage equality:

“We are in intense competition with Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts,” said Chafee, a 59-year-old Republican- turned-independent, ticking off three nearby states where gays can wed.

“We are all in the same economy. We have to have the same welcome mat at our door that our neighbors have.”

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Quote of the day: Evan Wolfson for Freedom To Marry

“With France and Britain poised to become the next countries to embrace the freedom to marry, it’s clear that the momentum we see here in the United States for ending marriage discrimination is, in fact, a global movement toward greater freedom and equality for all – and the U.S. should be leading, not lagging.

“America cannot afford to fall behind its closest allies and trade partners in this global economy, and needs to do right by its families, as a right-of-center British prime minister and left-of-center French president have called on their parliaments to do, with resounding success.” – Freedom To Marry head Evan Wolfson, in a press release noting this week’s victories in Britain and France.

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Illinois: Marriage equality easily passes in state Senate committee

An Illinois Senate committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in the state.

A 9-5 vote in the Illinois Senate Executive Committee moves the bill forward nearly a month after state Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and gay state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) reintroduced bills in their respective chambers that would extend marriage to gays and lesbians. That vote occurred  on Jan. 3, but time ran out in that legislative session to see the bill put to a full Senate vote.

President Obama, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin and Illinois Republican Party Chair Pat Brady are among those who have voiced support for the measure.

Senate President John Cullerton has previously stated that he would like to schedule a vote on the bill in the full Senate on Valentine’s Day.

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