LGBTQ news and entertainment
OK – full on confession: I think Julianna Margulies is a fantastic actress. I love “The Good Wife.” She’s just amazing.
On top of that, she’s for marriage equality in NY state.
Can’t get much better than that. Take a look.
And remember to support marriage equality – if only because I said so.
🙂
THIS is why Federal recognition of marriage rights for the LGBT community is important. This is why DOMA needs to be repealed.
If Ron was female he would have enough money to keep his home. He now has to sell the home he shared with his partner of 55 years.
Social Security allows for the surviving member of a married couple to receive the larger of the two Social Security checks – either the survivor’s or the member who passed away. This is how it works for heterosexual couples.
Not for gay or lesbian couples.
Marriage equality isn’t about “redefining” anything. It’s about equality.
It’s that black and white. Nothing to do with religion and everything to do with rights that come attached to a civil marriage license issued by a civil government. This is why these are civil rights issues.
“Liberty and justice for all.”
Rhode Island’s House speaker says legislation extending marriage rights to gay couples is dead for the year.
House Speaker Gordon Fox, who is gay and is a leading supporter of the gay marriage bill, says that it’s clear the bill won’t overcome opposition in the Senate.
Fox, a Providence Democrat, says he’ll introduce civil union legislation giving same-sex couples the same state rights afforded to married couples.
“Although my personal position on marriage equality has not changed, I have always been a practical person and I believe my pragmatism is one of the reasons why I was elected Speaker of the House. Based on individual discussions with many of you, I understand how difficult the marriage equality issue has been.”
“Based on your input, along with the fact that it is now clear to me that there is no realistic chance for passage of the bill in the Senate, I will recommend that the House not move forward with a vote on the marriage equality bill during this legislative session.”
“I will instead support full passage of a civil unions bill that grants important and long overdue legal rights to same-sex couples in Rhode Island.”
The announcement deals a major setback to advocates of gay marriage in the Ocean State. They had called civil unions a poor substitute for full marriage.
Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed’s resistance was seen as a big hurdle to clear for the bill’s passage.
In a statement to reporters, Weed – a Democrat – says she supports civil union legislation and is confident it will pass.
(via AP)
From the Washington Blade: New support for legislation that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act assures that the necessary votes are in place for a favorable Senate committee vote on the measure as advocates maintain hearings should take place first before advancing the bill.
Last week, the Respect of Marriage Act, legislation sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would repeal the 1996 anti-gay law that prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, gained two additional co-sponsors: Sens. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.
Kohl’s support for the legislation is critical because he’s a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and would have a vote when the roll is called to move the legislation to the floor. Lynn Becker, a Kohl spokesperson, said the senator had previously considered DOMA a state issue.
Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), another member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has also said she’d vote for repeal of DOMA in committee, although she’s stopped short of co-sponsoring the legislation. Last month, the Minnesota Independent reported that the senator would back the Respect for Marriage Act.
In a statement provided to the Washington Blade, Klobuchar confirmed that legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act has her support.
“I would vote to repeal this law because I believe same-sex couples and their families should have access to the same basic rights, including hospital visitation and survivor benefits,” Klobuchar said.
The support from Kohl and Klobuchar means that the Respect for Marriage Act has at least 10 votes in the Senate Judiciary Committee — enough to advance the bill to the Senate floor.
Obstacles still exist for the legislation since the bill must first pass out of the Judiciary committee then head to the floor of the Senate where, to avoid a filibuster, Democrats would have to have 7 Republicans support the bill. At this time, not one Republican has announced support.
According to Politico: the law firm of King & Spalding has stepped away from defending DOMA on behalf of the US House.
Following the decision to not defend DOMA, attorney Paul Clement has resigned from King & Spalding law firm.
Clement has joined Bancroft PLLC as partner. Bancroft has two former Bush administration officials as partners.
Hungarian lawmakers approved a new constitution Monday that was blasted by rights groups and the political opposition for measures considered extremely conservative. Some of the changes to the current constitution include: * Ban on same-sex marriage * Protects the life of a fetus from conception opening the possibility to future ban or restriction on abortion * Ban on discrimination does not include age or sexual orientation * Tax and pension law changes require a two-thirds majority “We’ve just participated in a historical moment,” parliamentary speaker Laszlo Kover said moments after the bill was approved 262-44. “The new constitution is built upon our past and traditions, but seeks and contains answers to current problems while keeping an eye on the future.” Hungary’s current constitution dates from 1949, near the start of the communist regime but it was almost fully rewritten during the 1989 transition to democracy. Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU in January.
“Question 1” is a new documentary shot during Maine’s successful “Yes on 1” campaign to repeal the state’s marriage equality law, utilizing interviews from both sides leading players and volunteers. In the documentary, Yes On 1 chairman Marc Mutty expresses regret for his role. Mutty also acknowledges that his campaign’s claim that “same-sex marriage will be taught in schools” was untrue.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the take-away in this documentary, which was filmed during the campaign on the condition that it not be screened before the election, is the regret expressed by the leader of the anti-gay initiative.
Says Marc Mutty, public affairs director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine, and chair of the “Yes on 1” campaign in the film’s trailer:
“This has been a f**kin’ son of a bitch. This has been awful. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it…I fear I’ll be remembered for the work I did on this campaign…[I’m asking…] for forgiveness for the ways in which I might have betrayed my own self in this endeavor.”
Make sure you go see it.
Watching the trailer is almost too difficult for me. This issue has become such an over-riding issue for me I can barely watch the bigots. I read posted somewhere recently:
“What does the word of God say about collecting a dead spouse’s social security? What does the word of God say about spousal privilege in legal cases? What does the word of God say about the tax code for married couples? CIVIL marriage has nothing to do with some people’s particular interpretation of what they think is the word of God. CIVIL marriage isn’t religious marriage.”
And that pretty much sums it all up for me. I’m tired of the “religious” – who aren’t that religious – using the Bible and the “word of God” to protect themselves from the label “bigot” – which is exactly what they are. I’m really done with it.
Equal is equal. No one wants to (here come the buzz words and catch phrases and talking points – pay attention) “redefine marriage.” All anyone wants is to have the SAME rights as everyone else. That’s why America is the great country it’s supposed to be. Not special rights – equal rights.
Stepping off the soapbox now. Go see the movie.
And vote.
NPR has a terrific article outlining the issues involved in the House Republicans decision to defend DOMA on their own.
House Speaker John Boehner told reporters at a news conference this month that President Obama’s turnaround on the anti-gay marriage law left Republicans with few options. “I don’t think the House had any choice but to take the position that we were going to defend the work of the Congress. And only the courts are in the position of determining the constitutionality of any bill,” Boehner said.
However, the constitutionality of the bill is exactly what will be determined – and sooner than later, I predict. Recent polls show that fair-minded, commonsense Americans have stated that federal legal recognition of lesbian and gay marriage is the right thing to do.
House Speaker John Boehner said he intends to divert funding from the Justice Department to the U.S. House so Congress can defend the federal law that bars recognition of same-sex marriage. An estimate on court costs was not given.
A prime example of how DOMA is unfair: the case of Edie Windsor, who spent more than 40 years with her female partner, Thea Spyer.
They got married in 2007, but the federal government didn’t recognize the marriage. And when Spyer died, Windsor got an estate tax bill of more than $360,000 on the money Spyer had left her.
Carlos Ball, a professor at Rutgers School of Law in Newark, N.J., told Congress that’s not fair. “There is no rational reason to impose a huge tax obligation on Edie that is not imposed on other New York widows,” Ball said. “And that is just one example of why DOMA is unconstitutional.”
Says Congressman Jerrold Nadler: “There is no redeeming moral value to a law whose sole goal and sole effect is to persecute a group of people for no reason and no benefit to anyone else.”
From The Advocate: Law & Order: SVU star Christopher Meloni joins the marriage equality video series from the Human Rights Campaign.
“Already five states and the District of Columbia have marriage equality,” says the actor, who was born in D.C. and is best known for playing NYPD detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama. “It’s time for New York to lead again.”
The video arrives one day after a Siena Research Institute poll indicated record levels of support for marriage equality among New York voters at 58%, with opposition falling to 36%. Moreover, the poll showed that voters hold high levels of confidence in Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat who has pledged to make marriage equality a priority in the post-budget portion of the legislative session that ends in June. The state senate, now controlled by Republicans, failed to pass the bill in 2009 by a vote of 38 to 24, but the Democratic-led assembly has voted for marriage equality three times.
“We are thrilled to add Christopher Meloni to the growing majority of New Yorkers who support the freedom to marry,” said Brian Ellner, senior strategist for HRC in New York. “With support for equality at a record high 58% in the state, we’re confident that all loving, committed couples will soon be able to marry the person that they love. As Chris says in his video, it’s time for New York to lead again.”
The New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign, which has appeared online and on the city’s Taxi TV, features prominent New Yorkers to move viewers to lobby their state lawmakers. Other videos in the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign so far have included Barbara Bush, daughter of former president George W. Bush; New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg; former mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins; former police commissioner Bill Bratton and Rikki Klieman; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Joan Rivers; Whoopi Goldberg; Lucy Liu; Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon; Russell Simmons; Julianne Moore; Ethan and Ryan Hawke; Moby; Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell; Fran Drescher; Mark and Sunrise Ruffalo; chefs Mario Batali, David Chang, and Tom Colicchio; Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe; Kenneth Cole; John Slattery; and Daphne Rubin-Vega.
Via LGBTQ Nation: A new poll indicates support for marriage equality in New York has reached 58 percent, the highest in the state’s history.
The poll, released Monday by the Siena Research Institute at Siena College, also revealed a “record low” of 36 percent of New Yorkers opposed the marriage equality. Six percent had no opinion.
Among Democrats and Independents, support was over 60 percent; among Republicans, 48 percent were opposed, although support registered at 45 percent.
“The more New Yorkers learn about marriage equality, the more they support this basic issue of fairness,” said Brian Ellner, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior strategist for the Campaign for New York Marriage.
“We will continue our campaign to educate across the state so that everyone has the right to make a commitment and build a family with the person they love,” Ellner said.
Ross D. Levi, Executive Director at the Empire State Pride Agenda, released this statement: “State legislators who have not supported marriage equality in the past should take note that New Yorkers — including nearly two thirds of suburban voters and a majority of upstate and Catholic voters — clearly believe in fairness and equality for their LGBT family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.”