LGBTQ news and entertainment
Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry is a new campaign by Freedom to Marry to highlight and build support for the freedom to marry among young people across America who identify as conservative.
Learn more at www.freedomtomarry.org/youngcons today.
During it’s first year in New York state, marriage equality added $259 million to New York City’s economy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn said today:
At least 8,200 gay-marriage licenses were issued, accounting for more than 10 percent of the 75,000 wedding licenses issued in New York City in the past year, Bloomberg and Quinn said in a statement today, citing a survey conducted by NYC & Co., the city’s marketing and tourism office, and the city clerk’s office.
Prior to the state’s enactment of same-sex marriage, a report from the State Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference predicted gay and lesbian marriages would rake in $391 million in economic activity for New York State during the first three years after going into effect.
So let’s look at all this: happy, shiny married people, more money for the economy, and no one got hurt.
Where’s the downside here?
Happy 1st New York! Celebrate! More wine!
A new salvo fired in the Defense of Marriage Act, with a third case now petitioning the Supreme Court for review. The Democratic National Committee could make history by adding marriage equality to the official party platform. And the mayor of Boston lashes out at Chick-fil-A.
From the editorial in the Baltimore Sun:
As a practical matter, the referendum will decide a narrow question. Because the Court of Appeals has ruled that Maryland must recognize gay marriages performed in other states, all that really is at stake is whether same-sex couples who wish to make a lifelong commitment can be legally joined in a civil marriage ceremony performed in the state, or whether they have to travel a few miles down the road to the District of Columbia.
The philosophical question posed by the referendum, though, is of great significance. Are all Maryland families entitled to the same protections under the law? Are all children, no matter who their parents are, entitled to the same kind of support?
We think they should be, if for no other reason than that it’s important for Maryland to be a welcoming place for families of all kinds. The only reason the state is involved in marriage at all is that strong marriages make strong families, and strong families make strong communities. That’s true whether the couples involved are gay or straight. The Episcopal Church has recognized this fact; it’s not the first denomination to do so, nor will it be the last. We hope that this November, Maryland voters will come to the same conclusion and vote to support marriage for all.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe is supporting marriage equaltiy in Minnesota.
He’s recorded a radio ad combatting a proposed state constitutional amendment that would further cement Minnesota’s existing ban on same-sex marriage.
The NFL player calls Minnesota’s existing ban on marriage equality “anti-American” and “anti-freedom.”
According to Care2MakeADifference, “Kluwe’s comments were made as part of a video he recorded for Minnesotans for Equality. The group is working to defeat the amendment that will go before voters at the November ballot.”
Kluwe says, “Excluding gay couples from marriage is a meaningless and reckless restriction of individual freedom and basic human rights. This amendment is an extreme change to our constitution, making it impossible to change for decades to come.”
Kluwe, who is married with two young daughters, continues: “To deny an entire group of people the ability to be legal couples is anti-American and anti-freedom. As a devoted husband and father of two, I can’t imagine the state of Minnesota not recognizing my love for my wife Isabel. We would welcome and respect the equal rights for gays to experience the same joy and privileges of marriage that we do. Please don’t limit the freedom to marry for anyone. So this November, vote no to the marriage discrimination amendment. It’s the right thing to do.”
Recent polls reveal that President Obama’s position on marriage equality now falls squarely in line with the increasing majority of Americans who support the freedom to marry. Click on the pic to enlarge.
Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston, his wife Robin, and their daughter Taylor, speak out in a new video for HRC’s Americans for Marriage Equality campaign.
Says Cranston: “Gay and lesbian couples should have every right to experience the joys of marriage and family that we do.”
More fear mongering from the anti-gay forces in Minnesota opposing marriage equality.
A new campaign plans to tap into and build upon the growing support for marriage equality expressed by young conservatives in the United States.
Freedom To Marry, the national advocacy group, launched the initiative, Young Conservatives for the Freedom To Marry, on Tuesday. The campaign intends to show the bipartisan nature of marriage equality by providing a platform for conservatives, Republicans and Libertarians under the age of 44 who believe the issue “fulfills basic conservative values of responsibility and community, as well as limited government and individual freedom,” according to a news release.
Recent polls show that support for marriage equality has grown across every demographic, including conservative voters, and in particular among young people. A poll from ABC News/Washington Post in May found that while 61% of Republicans thought that same-sex marriage should be illegal, 46% of Republicans between the ages of 18 and 44 supported marriage equality.
“Freedom and family are core conservative values,” said conservative commentator Margaret Hoover, a leadership committee member, in the group’s news release. “We have a historic opportunity to reaffirm these important values by supporting the fundamental freedom to marry for all Americans. Now is the time for a rising generation of voters and leaders to embrace these virtues and join Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry.”