For more info about The Four, go to www.thefour.com
Jay-Z on marriage equality and discrimination
Latest poll standings for the 4 states with marriage equality on ballot
Poll: 60 percent of Latinos support marriage equality
A new NBC Latino/IBOPE Zogby survey reveals that a solid majority of Latinos support marriage equality:
“Thirty eight percent said they disagree and 31 percent said they did so strongly…The statistics don’t mean there is complete acceptance of gays by Latinos, however. When it came to the biggest disappointment a parent would feel regarding their children, 43 percent said it would be if their child became a drug addict. Going to prison was the biggest disappointment for 33 percent of those surveyed. But 10 percent said having a gay child would be their biggest issue, while only 5 percent said a teen pregnancy would be their greatest disappointment.”
(via zack ford)
Expedia on gay marriage and finding “your understanding”
Every trip is unique.
On this trip, Artie Goldstein travels across the country to attend his daughter’s same-sex wedding, a journey that will test him, challenge him, and ultimately change him in unexpected ways.
Thanks to Expedia for telling this story in such a beautiful way.
Bruce Springsteen on marriage equality
From TheFour2012.com
Marriage for all families – Stories from Maine
The first of a four-part series made in each of the states that have marriage equality votes this November, this short shares the experiences of same-sex couples who want to get married in Maine. Three more short films will follow documenting the struggles in Washington, Maryland and Minnesota.
Marriage For All Families captures the real experience of same-sex couples, to show that they have the same challenges, responsibilities, and aspirations as other couples. Still, they are strangers in the eyes of the law. That’s why marriage equality is so important: it aligns personality reality with legal reality, as a simple matter of fairness and equality.
Read more about the short films and the support from The Four by clicking here.
New from Washington United
Let’s hear it for the good guys at Washington United for Marriage!
Both of these ads are terrific in that they address the “religious freedom” concerns some people have. I think that’s a very good thing to at least attempt to let folks know churches and clergy won’t be forced to do anything against their faith.
I like these a lot.
MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts marries longtime partner Patrick Abner
MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts married his partner of 12 years, Patrick Abner, in New York over the weekend in a ceremony officiated by California lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom.
Abner and Roberts announced their engagement June 25, 2011, a day after New York State approved marriage equality.
The ceremony and reception were held on the rooftop of the Gansevoort Park Avenue hotel, TV Newser reports. Attendees included CNN’s Don Lemon, Nate Berkus, Good Morning America’s Sam Champion, and reality star Carson Kressley.
Roberts tweeted this pic Monday morning: “Morning in NYC is pretty sweet waking up as a married man!”
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Via Advocate.com
Chris Kluwe addresses the “think of the children” argument against marriage equality
The fantastic Mr. Chris Kluwe of the Minnesota Vikings has posted a new essay addressing a recent article by Riley Balling in the StarTribune.com in their Commentaries section.
The crux of Mr. Riley’s support for banning marriage equality rights is “For many of us who favor traditional marriage, marriage is about raising children in a healthy environment. Thus, any change to the definition of marriage affects our marriage.”
Chris Kluwe artfully takes down this argument. Here’s just an excerpt:
Which version of “traditional marriage” would you like to use Mr. Balling? Should we go back to ancient Israel and practice polygamy, with a woman’s only right that to own her own tent? Or should we use the ancient Greek definition of marriage, one more concerned with inheritance than love or procreation, one that would force a woman to divorce her current husband and marry a sibling if that was required to continue the family? Should we force a brother to marry his dead sibling’s wife? Or perhaps we should make arranged marriages with child brides, that’s certainly traditional enough. Wait, I know, let’s go with the one where you have to pay three goats and a cow in order to ensure the woman is yours to keep forever, and you can stone her to death if she cheats on you. That one sounds terrific!
[snip]
Frankly, sir, your blatant attempt to sway people by using the “OH MAH GAWD THINK OF THE CHILDREN” argument is tiresome, bothersome, and insulting to anyone who cares to take the slightest interest in pulling aside your curtain of self satisfied drivel to expose the ugliness underneath. Furthermore, you never made any sort of logical attempt to explain how same-sex marriage affects your marriage in any concrete way, instead offering up vague generalizations with no proof. When it comes to “the children”, I can assure you that I *am* thinking of my children, and not just my children, but all the children they will come in contact with, and all the adults they will someday be; and it is my sincerest wish as a parent that I can raise them to be tolerant, to respect the free will of others, and above all, to see beneath the smug bigotry and oppression of those who would enslave the world to satisfy their own ugly lust for control. If you have any children, it is my hope that they enjoy a peaceful life, one free of tyranny.
Read the entire essay at TwinCities.com
Maine: Marriage equality issue leads by 21 points in new poll
A new poll by Critical Insights finds that Maine’s marriage equality referendum is set to pass, with 57 percent approval and only 36 percent rejection.
No one expects the 21-point lead to last, however. Maine has proven to be narrowly divided on gay marriage in past elections. Even with a strong lead, the issue is clearly dividing Maine voters along partisan, social and economic lines. The polls says:
* 81 percent of Democrats said they would vote “yes,” while 64 percent of Republicans say they would vote “no.”
* 86 percent of Obama supporters back same-sex marriage, while 75 percent of Romney supporters oppose it.
* 79 percent of King supporters back same-sex marriage, while 77 percent of Summers supporters oppose it.
* 69 percent of college graduates support the referendum, while 56 percent of people with a high school education or less oppose it.
* 77 percent of 18-to-34-year-old voters support it, while 50 percent of voters over 65 oppose it.
(source)